


Presented 



PRINCETON, N. J. 





by 


^FV*<2^<S \ CK <2/ r\^V(7\VV o 'TA 


Division 


Section >•• 




























V. 












THE FOREIGNER IN CHINA. 



Home-Life in China. 



BY 

MRS. M. I. BRYSON, 

OF THIS LONDON MISSION, WUCHANG, CHINA. 




AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 


150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. 



r 


t 







PREFACE. 


« 

MORE than nine years ago I set sail for far-off 
China. Since then the city of Wuchang-fu, 600 
miles up the great Yang-tse-kiang, has been my 
home. 

When I arrived there, how extraordinary the 
little pig-tailed boys and small-footed girls looked 
to me, and how much I wished to be able to un- 
derstand them when they were chattering away 
to each other in words which sounded so strange 
to me. 

After a while I learned to speak to them in 
their own language. They would follow me in 
large numbers along the narrow streets, and gather 
round me wonderingly as I sat down on the green 
slopes of their city wall. By-and-by some of 
them came to our schools, and became very well 
known to me. 

Many of the Chinese have paid me constant 
visits at the Mission House, the sick coming for 
medicines, the poor and those who were in trouble 
for relief and comfort. Not a few who were well 
and strong came also with their relatives to make 
friendly calls, and look at the strange things that 
were to be found in a “foreigner’s” house. 

I have sojourned with Chinese children in 
their own little cottages among the mountains, 


6 


PREFACE. 

and travelled with the boatmen’s families across 
some of the great Chinese lakes and down the 
broad river. 

Some of them I have visited in their ancient 
homes, surrounded by lofty whitewashed walls, 
looking very gloomy outside and very comfort- 
less within, notwithstanding much grandeur of 
carved wood and painting. 

The acquaintance of other children has been 
made as they crouched, half-starved with cold 
and hunger, within the frail mat shed which they 
called home. Many a talk I have had with their 
mothers about our children ; and the better I knew 
them the more earnestly I longed to do them 
good and make them happy. And now I want 
you to become acquainted with these Chinese 
families too. 

You cannot all take the long journey to China, 
so I will tell yon something of what I have seen, 
and write out for yon the stories of a few of my 
Chinese friends. When you have read the book, 
I trust that, knowing much more about China’s 
people, yon will wish to do more than you have 
ever done before to make them as happy as you 
are. 

Should this be so, I shall feel very thankful 
and glad that I have told you a little of what I 
have seen and heard in the great land of China. 


MARY ISABELLA BRYSON. 





<n: u 


PART I. 

CHAP. 

I. A CHINESE BABY 

II. A CHILD'S HOME AND FRIENDS . 

III FAMILIAR SCENES 

IV CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL 
V. CHINESE BOYS AT PLAY 

VI. CHINESE GIRLS A T HOME . 

VII TWO BOY-EMPERORS OF CHINA . 

VIII. CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS . 

IX. IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS 

X. TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN . 


PAGE. 
. II 

23 

. 40 

56 

• 75 
[92 

. 122 
132 

• I 5 I 
17S 


PART II. 

I YAU-TING; OR, FIRST-FRUITS GATHERED . 197 

II. SHIN- XU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER . . 210 

III. CHIH-SHWIN; OR, THE MANDARIN'S LIT- 
TLE PAGE 226 


8 


CONTENTS 


IV. BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED; OR, THE STORY 

OF A CHINESE SCHOOLGIRL . . . 233 

V CHIVIN-E ; OR, THE FLOWER THAT FADED . 247 

VI. YANG KIEN-TANG ; OR, THE BOY WHO BE- 
CAME A DOCTOR 254 

VII. KAI-KWEI; OR, THE YOUNG SOLDIER . . 266 

VIII. TA-KU AND ER-KU; OR, THE TEACHER'S 

DAUGHTERS 274 

IX. HOW SKEI-KU WAS CURED OF RUNNING 

AWAY 283 

X. REFUSING TO BOW DOWN IN THE HOUSE 
OF RIMMON ; OR, THE STORY OF 
CHANG-FU 287 

XL CHIANG-S WEI; OR, THE PREACHER'S SON . 294 

XII. THE MANDARIN'S THREE DAUGHTERS . 301 


XIII. CONCLUSION 


309 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


THE FOREIGNER IN CHINA 4 

A CHINESE LADY 25 

A CHINESE GENTLEMAN 33 

A SLEEPING APARTMENT 37 

CHINESE CITY WALLS 41 

A STREET BARBER 45 

A BOYS’ SCHOOL 57 

THE PUNCH AND JUDY SHOW . . 79 

CHINESE TOY-SELLER ... . 83 

SELLER OF SWEETMEATS 87 

A CHINESE LANTERN AND BEARER . . . . 91 

GOLDEN LILIES— BARE AND SHOD ... 101 

PRINCE RUNG 125 

A STREET BEGGAR IJ 5 

NEW YEAR’S MODE OF SALUTATION . . . .150 

B UDDHIS T PRIES TS U 3 

THE YELLOW STORK TOWER 160 

WUCHANG 161 


IO LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ORPHAN ISLAND, POYANG LAKE 165 

SERVICE FOR THE DEAD 173 

ARRIVAL OF A FOREIGNER 183 

A VILLAGE AUDIENCE 221 

CHINESE CHESS-PLAYERS 251 

HANKOW, FROM THE HANYANG HILL . . .255 

THE VICEROY LI HUNG CHANG 261 

THE CHINESE WORD FOR “FAITH" . . .264 

A CHINESE COURTYARD 303 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 




PART I. 


CHAPTER I. 

A CHINESE BABY. 

Pigtail and almond-shaped eyes were the 
characteristic features of John Chinaman, or, 
rather, of the picture which fancy painted of him 
in my childhood’s days. 

My ideas upon the subject were gleaned from 
close study of the tea-chests, adorned with strange- 
looking figures in impossible attitudes, and from 
kindred works of art painted on delicate china- 
ware. 

I used to dream over the willow-pattern plate, 
with its wonderful picture -story. The bridge 
over which the three Celestials were running, the 
extraordinary foliage of the trees, the queer little 
boat with its one sailor, and the two doves which, 
hovering in mid-air, surveyed the scene — all were 
objects of the keenest interest to me. It is a long 
time now since the days of which I am writing, 


12 


home-life in china. 


yet the far-off “Middle Kingdom” and its strange 
inhabitants have only grown in attractiveness to 
me. 

For many years past my home has been with- 
in its boundaries, and to-day it seems almost as 
much ‘ ‘ my ain countree ’ ’ as the shores of dear 
old England. 

Remembering, therefore, my youthful interest 
in that distant and wonderful land, I will ask you 
to walk with me through Chinese streets, to enter 
the strange homes so different from your own, to 
listen to the accents of the ancient language spo- 
ken by the people, and to make the acquaintance 
of some of the boys and girls whose lot has been 
cast there. 

It is a long journey of more than ten thousand 
miles which I am asking you to take before we 
shall reach the shores of that vast empire, which 
is larger even than the continent of Europe and 
is inhabited by more than a quarter of the human 
family. 

In so large a country we have naturally every 
variety of climate. We have also lofty mountains 
whose peaks are always capped with snow, and 
mighty rivers, one of which, the grand Yang-tse- 
kiang, is the longest in all Asia. In the interior 
there are immense plains and splendid water com- 
munication.. The Grand Canal, originally more 
than six hundred miles in length, unites the 
Yang-tse with the Yellow River, connecting 


A CHINESE BABY. 


Peking in the north with Hangchow in the cen- 
tre. 

Far away to the north rises the great wall of 
China, more than twelve hundred miles in length. 
It was built by one of the Chinese emperors to 
keep out the Tartars; but it failed to accomplish 
the end for which it was built, since at the pres- 
ent time the Emperor of China is a Tartar. 

Not only is China so extensive and grand a 
country, but it is the most ancient empire now in 
existence. In the far-off ages of the past, when 
Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, the 
Chinese were a strong nation, with laws and a 
literature of their own. Some ten years after the 
child Samuel heard the voice of God speaking to 
him in the still midnight hours, a Chinese emper- 
or named Wun Wang was writing a book which 
is one of the standards of education in China to- 
day, and is committed to memory by all the ad- 
vanced students in the empire. And when our 
own predecessors were only painted savages, wan- 
dering about the forests of Britain, the Chinese 
were enjoying a high degree of prosperity and 
civilization. 

I will not, however, in the meantime stay to 
write more of the country which they inhabit, 
but at once introduce to you some of the children 
of the land; for when you become acquainted 
with the training and manner of life of the young 
people of a country, you gain a pretty good idea 


i4 


home-life in china. 


of the kind of men and women they will become 
by-and-by. 

Let us commence with the very beginning of 
life, and, going into one of these Chinese houses, 
have a peep at the baby, lying in his bamboo cra- 
dle with its heavy framework and rockers, while 
his bright black eyes peer up at you curiously out 
of his small, sallow face. 

If it is summer-time, baby is not troubled with 
much clothing, a single airy garment being con- 
sidered quite sufficient. During the cold days of 
winter, there being no fires lighted for warming 
Chinese houses, baby is muffled in so many tiny 
wadded garments that he looks like the queerest 
little ball imaginable. His clothes are not white 
like an English child’s, but of some bright color, 
usually scarlet. Round his fat little wrists you 
will notice a red cord has been tied. This is con- 
sidered by his parents a very important matter, 
and serious consequences are dreaded if it should 
be neglected. When a child is disobedient and 
difficult to manage, a common remark is, “Surely 
his parents forgot to bind his wrists;” for this 
mysterious operation is practised with the idea of 
making the little fellow docile and obedient in 
future life. Round the baby’s neck you will see 
another piece of red cord has been tied, and sus- 
pended from it are quite a number of small objects 
which are supposed to act as charms, preserving 
the little one from the attacks of evil spirits and 


A CHINESE) BABY. 15 

guarding him against numerous childish com- 
plaints. Here are a number of small copper 
coins, each with a hole through the centre. They 
are the only currency of China. After being 
nicely rubbed up they are hung round baby’s 
neck, and are supposed to insure his freedom from 
attacks of colic and other ailments of infancy. 
Some of the charms are in the form of fabulous 
animals; occasionally they are made of silver. 
But whatever the shape or material, they are a 
great source of satisfaction to the baby, who bites 
and jingles them with all the delight of an Eng- 
lish child playing with its coral and bells. On 
the day that baby is a fortnight old special 
thanksgiving is made, and offerings are laid be- 
fore the family shrine of the goddess called 1 1 Mo- 
ther.” 

But the most important event in the early days 
of a Chinese baby is the occasion on which his 
first month of life is celebrated. If baby is a boy, 
and particularly a first-born son, all the relatives 
and connections from far and near are invited to 
come to a grand feast in honor of the happy day. 
No one is expected to arrive empty-handed, and 
baby’s riches in the way of silver rings, charms, 
and lucky cash, not to mention painted ducks’ - 
eggs and piles of sweetmeats and cakes, have ac- 
cumulated considerably before the day is over. 
The great event of the day is the shaving of the 
child’s head. Chinese nurses are amazed to find 


i6 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


that English boys and girls, whose mothers neg- 
lect this important duty, can still boast of flowing 
locks when the years of childhood are passed. 
The baby's head is shaved before the ancestral 
tablets, or the shrine of “Mother,” and the bar- 
ber who performs the delicate operation, though 
he makes no charge, finds it the most profitable 
part of his business, since a money present is will- 
ingly given. 

The baby’s grandmother has an important 
part to play on this occasion: she is the principal 
guest of the day, and if she belongs to the wealth- 
ier classes the presents she sends are generally 
numerous and costly. The most important of 
these is a gay little cap, ornamented with em- 
broider}’ and eighteen gold, silver, or copper fig- 
ures of the disciples of Buddha, which are be- 
lieved to attract all good influences towards their 
little wearer. 

On the same day baby receives his ‘ 1 milk ’ ’ or 
pet name. But this does not, of course, serve him 
all his life through, for when he is old enough to 
go to school the master selects a name for him; 
and later on, when he is married, or if he is for- 
tunate enough to succeed in the competitive ex- 
aminations, he will probably receive yet a third 
name. 

These “milk” names are sometimes very ex- 
traordinary’ to English ears; for the parents are 
afraid to give their children the fine, high-sound- 


A CHINESE) BABY. 


*7 

in g names their love suggests, lest the evil spirits, 
of whom they stand in constant fear, should come 
to understand how precious they are and cause 
some calamity to overtake them. 

And so you constantly meet with children an- 
swering to the names of Little Stupid, Vagabond, 
Flea, Dirt, or Spring Dog, the idea being that 
when the spirits hear the little ones called by 
such uncomplimentary names they will imagine 
that the parents care very little for them, and will 
not take the trouble to molest them. 

This foreboding that disaster may befall a 
child, particularly an only son, is the reason why 
many little boys wear the dress of a Buddhist 
priest and have their heads kept shaved till they 
are eight or nine years of age. By that time, if 
they are strong and well, they are dressed like 
other boys; the period of anxiety is supposed to 
have passed, and the parents imagine they have 
successfully deceived the spirits by the ruse of 
making it appear they cared so little for their son 
that they were willing to make him a Buddhist 
priest. 

And now, at the very beginning of the baby’s 
life, you will find how widely the customs of 
China differ from those of our own land. In 
England, whether the baby is a boy or a girl, it 
is welcomed and loved by its parents; and in a 
family the little girls are considered as precious as 

their brothers. But in China it is quite different. 

2 


l3 HOME- LIKE IN CHINA. 

When the news of a baby’s birth is sent to the 
relatives and friends, the sex of the child is the 
most important part of the announcement. If it 
is a boy, rejoicings are general and all the friends 
call upon the family with presents and congratu- 
lations. But if the baby is a girl, the parents are 
considered to be more .in need of sympathy than 
congratulation, and the kindest remark any soft- 
hearted visitor can possibly be expected to make 
is, “ Ah, well, even girls are of some use !” 

Not unfrequently when a little girl is born its 
parents will drown it rather than have the trouble 
of bringing it up. Some women have destroyed 
as many as five or six little girls in this way. To 
save the babies from being put to death kind- 
hearted Chinamen have established foundling 
hospitals in many Chinese cities. The tiny baby 
girls are taken in there when cast off by their fa- 
thers and mothers, and are given out in great 
numbers to country-women to nurse. It is a 
strange sight, once a month, to see these little 
foundlings being brought in from their country 
homes with their foster-mothers and taken to the 
foundling hospital for inspection. Some come in 
small round baskets, slung from the end of a long 
pole carried on a man’s shoulders. If the babies 
are plump and well the nurses receive their pay, 
but if they look thin or ailing a considerable re- 
duction is made in their wages. Many other 
foundling hospitals have been established by the 


A CHINESE BABY. 


*9 


Roman-catholics; and it is not unusual for the 
wife of a Protestant missionary to hear the low 
wail of a new-born baby girl which has been left 
upon the doorstep of the mission house by parents 
who, though not willing to take the baby’s life, 
were very anxious to get rid of it. Sometimes a 
man is employed to go round with a number of 
children and try to dispose of them for money. 
One of our missionary friends in the Fuh-kien 
province was offered the chance of purchasing 
three little wailing babies, hungry and cold, after 
being carried with several others round for sale 
through a long day. If she would take the lot, 
the baby merchant said she should have them 
cheap. 

If a Chinese baby dies no loving hands pre- 
pare it for its grave. A piece of coarse matting 
is tied around the tiny body, and it is carried to a 
little tower erected outside most cities, with little 
openings like windows, but without doors. All 
that is left of baby is thrown in through one of 
these openings and falls into the pit below the 
tower. If the little one is a girl the parents are 
not always particular to ascertain if it is quite 
dead or not. The very fact of a baby’s death 
convinces the parents that the little one was no 
precious gift to be treasured, but possessed by 
some evil spirit, and only the source of anxiety 
and misfortune from tire first, and the sooner they 
forget all about it the better. 


20 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


The baby girl’s head is shaved, but with few 
of the rejoicings that attend the same event in 
her brother’s life; and she very frequently re- 
ceives some such name as Chien-ti, u Lead along 
a brother,” Lai-ti, “Come, younger brother,” 
with the idea of expressing the hope that she 
may soon be succeeded by a baby boy. Some- 
times, if she is the second or third child in a fam- 
ily, she is called simply, Daughter Number One, 
or Two, as the case may be. Occasionally some 
more poetical designation is chosen, such as Pearl, 
Fragrance, or Peace; or the name of a flower is 
selected, as Narcissus, Lily, or Rose. 

After the shaving festival baby is carried out 
to pay its first visit to its grandmother. On this 
occasion she presents the child with a number of 
small gifts, each of which has some good signifi- 
cation. Several kinds of vegetables which attain 
to maturity very rapidly are offered, as expressing 
the old lady’s desire that baby may likewise quick- 
ly grow strong and sturdy; and rice husks, which 
signify that it is her wish that her small grandson 
should grow up a proficient scholar and a famous 
man. When the baby reaches the age of four 
months he is taught to sit in a chair, and so re- 
lieve his mother or attendant of the care of nurs- 
ing him. Soft sugar-candy is placed on the little 
chair, and it is thought that henceforth baby will 
be very fond of sitting in it. 

When the child goes out of doors he is fre- 

o 


A CHINESE BABY. 


21 


quently strapped upon the back of his attendant; 
the women of the poorer classes, while carrying 
their children in that position, manage to attend 
to most of their domestic duties. 

A solemn, patient little being is the Chinese 
baby in general, putting up with indignities which 
an English child would violently resent. But he 
can laugh with the merriest when his mother 
holds him up to her face, not to kiss, but to smell 
his soft brown cheek. He likes to hear the strange- 
ly unmusical voice in which she drones out the 
high notes of the “Mo li wlia,” or some other 
popular tune, and claps his small hands together 
gleefully to the nursery rhyme of: 

One, strike the hand ; 

Two, let us play ; 

Three, draw the bow. 

The day that is kept with greater rejoicings 
than any other in the baby’s life is the anniver- 
sary of his birth. A great feast is spread, to which 
even the most distant relatives are invited, and 
every dainty known to the cuisine of China decks 
the festal board. 

Presents, as usual, come pouring in on all sides; 
but the most suitable offering is supposed to be a 
pair of embroidered shoes, since baby will soon be 
thinking of walking alone. Very gay indeed are 
the slippers, which have been worked by the skil- 
ful fingers of all the female relatives. Some are 
embroidered with the head of a cat, thereby ex- 


22 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


pressing a hope that baby may become as sure- 
footed as pussy. Some are decorated with the 
head of a frog, others have pretty floral designs, 
and yet another will bear the mystic symbol whose 
signification is, ‘ ‘ May all you wish be yours. ’ ’ 

After the feast a very important ceremony is 
performed. The little scarlet-coated hero of the 
day is placed in the middle of a table which usu- 
ally stands just in front of the ancestral tablets. 
Around the little man are ranged a great variety 
of articles, such as a mandarin’s button and neck- 
lace, books, ink-slab and pencil, a string of cash, 
artificial flowers, and other things significant of 
various professions and trades. The question of 
the day is, Which object will attract the baby’s 
attention, and, being grasped by his tiny hand, 
indicate his future career in life? The baby’s 
grandmother is usually careful to have the arti- 
cles of best omen nearest to the child's hand. But 
if the baby grasps the glittering button and beads, 
the excitement is intense, and congratulatory 
phrases are heard on every side. 

Very numerous are the thanksgivings and pro- 
pitiatory services performed at some idol-temple, 
or before the family shrine, during the first two 
years of the baby’s life. All of them are attended 
with burning of incense and paper money, letting 
off of crackers to frighten away evil spirits, and 
din of gongs and cymbals. 


A child’s home and friends. 


23 


CHAPTER II. 

A child’s home and friends. 

When first the bright black eyes of the Chi- 
nese child begin to gaze with some intelligence 
upon the strange new world in which it has come 
to live, the sights it sees are, for the most part, 
very different from those which attract the notice 
of an English child. 

The first object of deepest interest with our 
baby Chinaman, as with his English brother, is 
always the face of his mother. And how unlike 
she is to an English mother ! She has dark eyes, 
like the baby’s, and raven locks, which are drawn 
tightly back from her face and used to cover a 
queer framework, looking like butterflies’ wings, 
or in some other fantastic shape. Her forehead 
appears very broad, since, just betore her wed- 
ding-day, all the short hairs over her brow were 
drawn out to give it this wide, open appearance. 

Several of her finger nails are very long, for 
that is a sign that she is a lady, and has little 
work to do with her hands. To keep these nails 
from breaking she wears over them little shields 
of gold or silver. But look at her feet ! Could 
any one ever imagine that they were the feet of a 
grown-up woman? They have been bound and 


24 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


compressed with strong cotton bandages from her 
childhood, and now she can wear tiny slippers 
only three inches long, made of bright-colored 
satin, and very beautifully embroidered. Every 
one admires her very much, and says that when 
she moves it is as the “ waving of the willow- 
trees,” and they call her poor distorted feet “gold- 
en lilies.” As we look at her our wonder is how 
she can manage to walk at all without coming to 
grief. 

Her dress also looks strange to European eyes. 
She wears a loose tunic of some bright-flowered 
silk, trimmed with braid which is woven with 
silk and gold thread. Her sleeves are more than 
a yard round, and adorned with strips of beautiful 
embroidery. She wears loose trousers underneath 
the tunic, and when in full dress a kilted skirt, 
which is also richly trimmed. She can boast of 
a large stock of jewelry, and she wears many 
pins of elaborate workmanship in her dark locks. 
Her ears are quite weighed down by her large, 
heavy ear-rings, and she has several rings upon 
her fingers and massive bracelets on her arms. 

When relatives and friends are invited to dine 
at their house, the baby’s mother never sits down 
to a meal with them. She remains always in her 
own apartment; but sometimes, when there is a 
merry company in the guest-hall, you may hear a 
rustling and a sound of hushed laughter, and so 
be made aware of the fact that the lady of the 



A CHINESE LADY, 




I 


. / 


a child’s home and friends. 27 

house and her attendants are having a sly peep at 
what is going on; for it is easy to make small 
holes in the paper screens, or to peer from behind 
a curtain which shields the door. 

The baby’s mother is quite unable to read or 
write, and very wearily the days pass with her. 
It takes a long time for her attendant to dress her 
hair and fix it in its place with long pins and a 
sort of glue. Then she adorns it with bright- 
colored, sweet-scented flowers. Her face also has 
to be powdered, and a touch of rouge put on here 
and there. 

By-and-by she will spend a little time at her 
embroidery frame, or play with baby till she gets 
tired even of that amusement. Afterwards she 
takes a turn at smoking or card-playing, and so 
the weary hours of the day slip by. 

It is quite a relief when every few days she 
has a call from one of the ancient dames who 
make their living by flower-selling, fortune-tell- 
ing, or vending numerous small wares. Others 
come also who are employed as marriage-makers, 
and go from one family to another trying to earn 
a living by arranging matches between babies or 
little children. But, whatever their profession, 
they are always very welcome visitors, since, with 
their lively gossip and news of the families of 
their various clients, they bring a fresh breeze 
from the outer world into the close, stifling atmos- 
phere of the “ inner apartments.” 


28 


home-life in china. 


As I have said, the baby’s mother rarely goes 
outside the door of her own house; but on one or 
two occasions during the year she is allowed to 
venture out in a sedan-chair, with curtains closely 
drawn, carried on the shoulders of several coolies. 

Once, in the early spring-time, she pays a 
visit to the family graves. She journeys outside 
the city walls, beyond the great plain dotted with 
countless numbers of mounds, marked by no tree 
or flower, but interspersed here and there by heavy 
coffins bound round by coarse strips of matting. 
Just on the borders of this city of the dead, which 
her sad heathen faith brightens with no ray of 
hope and peace, are the graves of the baby’s fore- 
fathers for many generations. No better spot 
could possibly have been chosen, according to the 
geomancers who have been consulted about the 
matter, for behind it rises a green hill, sheltering 
the bones of the dead from chill northern blasts, 
while the warm southern sun shines in front upon 
the strangely-shaped granite slabs. With her own 
hands she had prepared the dishes of various kinds 
of food for an offering to the dead, but she stands 
aside while the male portion of the family entreat 
the spirits to come and partake of the feast pro- 
vided for them, worshipping them meanwhile in 
reverential attitudes with smoke of burning in- 
cense and paper money. 

At other times, especially if her baby is ill, 
she pays a visit to some noted temple and there 


a child’s home and friends. 29 

vows before the shrine of the Goddess of Mercy 
or the idol called ‘‘Mother” that if they will but 
protect her darling and restore him to health again 
costly offerings shall be laid at their feet. 

As for the baby’s father, his hair also is shaved 
off his forehead, and he wears the rest of it twist- 
1 ed into a heavy plait, which hangs down his back. 
To make it look long and thick, the barber often 
adds some false hair to it or some threads of black 
silk. He wears a long robe of colored silk, and 
in winter a sleevless wadded vest of satin. In 
very cold weather he dresses in fur-lined robes. 
On ordinary occasions his head is covered with a 
skullcap of black silk, except when the weather 
is warm, and then he wears no covering at all. 
His official hat is made of felt, turned up all 
round, and trimmed with dark fur. The button 
or glass ball which tells the rank to which he has 
attained is fastened on the top of it. These balls 
are of various colors, and indicate the exact rank 
of the wearer. The highest is of red coral ; oth- 
ers are light red, light blue, dark blue, mother-of- 
pearl, and the lowest of all is a gilt ball. His 
shoes are made of satin, and have thick white 
soles, instead of being bright with blacking. 

Baby’s father is probably a scholar, and yet if 
you began to question him you would be inclined 
to consider him rather ignorant. He can quote 
whole chapters of the Chinese classics, and tell 
you in a moment the exact place in which any 


3 ° 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


passage occurs, at the same time giving you some 
interpretation of it. But if you put him through 
the simplest examination in geography, you would 
find that the only clear idea he had upon the sub- 
ject was that China was the largest and most im- 
portant empire under the sun, and that whatever 
other small countries there might be besides were 
all tributary to it and inhabited by “outer barba- 
rians. ’ ’ He is always congratulating himself upon 
being born in the grand Celestial Empire, and 
feels convinced that the people of all other na- 
tions must be envious of his birthright. 

As for the religion of the baby’s father, he has 
little faith in the worship of idols, but he never 
fails to burn paper money and incense before the 
carved wooden tablets in which he believes the 
spirits of his ancestors are dwelling. Not only 
does he love his baby boy with the strong affec- 
tion of a father, but all his hopes for future hap- 
piness are resting on that little life. 

If so terrible a misfortune as his son’s death 
should overtake him, he believes when his turn 
comes to enter the unseen world his untended 
spirit will wander about those mysterious regions 
hungry and naked, homeless and miserable ; for 
only a living son, by constant acts of devotion 
before the ancestral tablet and at the family 
graves, can supply the wants of a father in the 
spirit-land. 

No wonder, then, that when the baby boy was 


A child’s home and friends. 31 

ailing the proud father condescended to go beg- 
ging from door to door in the city, asking each 
family, to the number of one hundred, for a sin- 
gle cash, a coin of which it takes twenty to make 
a penny. His idea was that the prayers and good 
wishes of each of these families would follow their 
money, and thus secure the health and prosperity 
of his child ; and he purchased with the coins 
he collected a “hundred families lock,” which is 
always worn round his little son’s neck. No won- 
der, also, that when the baby was seriously ill he 
walked through the city streets carrying the 
child’s small garments at the end of a bamboo 
pole, and crying out at intervals, ‘ ‘ Return, re- 
turn,” for he believed that some evil spirit had 
tempted the little one’s soul away and caused its 
sickness. How true it is that in China the life 
and future happiness of the parents are all bound 
up in the life of their child ! 

How different is the house in which the baby 
lives from the homes we love ! It is of one story 
only, and the rooms are ranged one behind each 
other, with an open court between, called a t’ien 
ching, or “heavenly well,” which is very pret- 
tily decorated. In the centre you will see some 
curious rock-work, and over or among it strange- 
looking dwarf plants and shrubs are growing. 
Here is a fir-tree no taller than a geranium, stunt- 
ed and bound with fine wire till it looks the 
queerest little dwarf imaginable. Close by the 


32 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


rock-work you will see little tanks in which gold 
and silver fish are kept, and others in which the 
broad leaves of the lotus, with its delicate pink 
flowers, are growing. All around the court are 
pretty earthenware stands upon which pots of 
flowers are placed. Here are beautiful dwarf or- 
ange-trees, the golden fruit gleaming out from 
among the dark glossy leaves and fragrant buds. 
There are also stately oleanders and brilliant 
pomegranate buds, and many more besides. In 
some quiet corner wistaria, jessamine, and climb- 
ing Chinese roses grow luxuriantly ; and in the 
autumn the sweet scent of the “Kwei-wha,” or 
flower of the fragrant olive, is borne on every 
breeze. 

We have stopped in our description of the 
house to talk about the garden, which would be 
quite out of place if it were in England ; but in 
China, as I said before, it is different, for houses 
there are often built round the garden, instead of 
the garden going round the house. 

Passing on into the principal room of the man- 
sion, which is called the “guest-hall,” we find it 
furnished with a large oblong dais or couch, with 
a low stand in the centre. It is placed near to the 
wall of the apartment, just opposite the door. 
Large illuminated scrolls are suspended on the 
wall in pairs, having selected passages from the 
Chinese classics written upon them. If there is 
no hall set apart for the ancestral tablets, they are 



^LIiUMULL! 


A CHINESE GENTLEMAN, 






A child’s home and friends. 35 

usually found in this room. On either side we 
see elaborately-carved chairs placed in pairs op- 
posite to each other, with a tea-stand between 
each pair. All Chinese rooms are furnished in 
exactly the same fashion, and when a visitor en- 
ters the house he knows exactly in what light you 
regard him by the worth of the seat you press him 
to take. The seat of honor is on the left hand of 
the host. 

There is no fireplace in the apartment, for the 
Chinese have no stoves for heating rooms, though 
in the northern parts of the empire a broad hol- 
low bench of brick is erected and heated by flues. 
Being without glass windows, even on a bright 
day the room is dull; but when the handsome lan- 
terns which are suspended from the ceiling are 
lighted up it has a pretty effect. A side-door, 
often screened by a curtain, leads into the apart- 
ments of the women, which are always situated 
at the back of the house. Chinese doors and win- 
dows rarely fit very closely, and the only arrange- 
ment the people have for keeping themselves 
warm is to heap on jacket after jacket and vest 
after vest, till they seem almost smothered with 
clothing. The poor people pad their jackets with 
cotton wool, and those who can afford it wear fur- 
lined garments. They warm their hands and 
feet with small hand and foot stoves, which look 
like little brass baskets with grated covers, filled 
with charcoal embers. The “sou-lou,” or hand- 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


stove, is very small and light, and is frequently 
pushed up the large Chinese sleeves. 

Going into the sleeping-rooms we find bed- 
steads not unlike our own. There are, however, 
no blankets or sheets, and a large wadded cover- 
let, gay with bright chintz, forms both mattress 
and covering. We see no soft feather pillows, 
but in summer-time only a hard frame of bamboo, 
which keeps the head cool. In winter a different 
pillow is used, embroidered at the ends and cov- 
ered with cloth; this also is very stiff and hard. 

When we come to the commissariat of China 
we shall find that even the food is very different 
from ©ur own. When a Chinaman meets you he 
does not ask after your health, but his greeting is, 
“ Have you taken your rice?” and rice is the uni- 
versal “staff of life” in South and Central China. 

In the Chinese home knives and forks are never 
seen upon the table, but only two chop-sticks, 
about a foot long, made either of ivory or varnish- 
ed wood. Chop-sticks is the name given to these 
useful little articles by foreigners, but the Chinese 
themselves call them kwai-tsz, or “quick lads.” 

At meal-times each person has his own special 
basin of rice, which he holds up very near to his 
mouth; then taking the chop-sticks in his right 
hand, he manages to empty his basin and be ready 
for another in a very short space of time. Vege- 
tables, fish, and meat are also cooked and placed 
in separate basins in the centre of the table, and 



A SLEEPING APARTMENT. 








































A child’s home and friends. 39 

when any one wishes for a relish to his rice, he 
dips his chop-sticks into the common dish and se- 
cures a morsel. The Chinese think our English 
fashion of serving large joints of meat on the table 
quite unworthy of a civilized nation. They say 
they leave the work of carving and preparing the 
food to the servants, but we keep our guests wait- 
ing while we do it ourselves at table. 

A Chinese feast frequently lasts for many 
hours. The table is usually bare, no cloth of any 
kind being spread upon it. Dessert, consisting 
generally of dried fruits, nuts, etc. , is placed first 
upon the festive board. One plate is considered 
sufficient for each guest, however large the num- 
ber of courses may be, and sometimes there are as 
many as twenty-five different dishes. Birds’ -nest 
soup, sea-slugs, or “ beche-de-mer,” sharks’ fins, 
and ducks’ tongues are favorite dishes. Nearly 
everything is stewed, and flavored with garlic or 
oil, which make these dainties not very agreeable 
to a European palate. Frequently, when foreign 
guests have been invited, the cook is ordered to 
flavor the dishes sparingly, in order to suit the 
strange Western taste. Wine is served hot in 
China, and poured from zinc or silver kettles into 
the daintiest of small porcelain wine-cups. Tea 
is always kept in the house ready for drinking, 
and when a visitor calls a servant immediately 
brings in a cup of the national beverage, which 
is served without srmar or milk. 

o 

Home- Life iu Chiu*. ^ 


40 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER III. 

FAMILIAR SCENES. 

When for the first time a Chinese child goes 
out of doors, and is carried in the arms or sits 
with his legs round the neck of his attendant, it 
is a very busy world he enters, and a strange one 
also to Western eyes. As he passes along the 
streets in most parts of China, he finds even the 
widest and busiest in the city are narrower than 
our English lanes; they have no sidewalks, and 
are paved with irregular stone slabs, for it is con- 
sidered unlucky to have them laid down evenly. 
There are no open spaces or squares in the midst 
of a Chinese city, but all the houses are packed 
together in the smallest possible space. Being 
built largely of wood, the frequent fires are apt to 
destroy whole streets at a time. But the house- 
holders begin to build again among the smoking 
ashes, setting up stalls close by the ruins, and at- 
tempting to carry on their business as best they 
can under the circumstances. 

Most Chinese cities are surrounded by strong 
walls, with gates which are well defended; fre- 
quently they are closed at sunset, and no exit or 
entrance is permitted till daylight. A small guard 
of soldiers is often posted at the gates for their de- 



CHINESE CITY WALLS. 




FAMILIAR SCENES. 


43 


fence. Chinese soldiers are strangely destitute of 
that air of briskness and general vigor which is 
so characteristic of our military men. Their uni- 
form is usually of blue cotton, loose in shape, and 
occasionally they have a jacket or vest of scarlet. 
This garment is adorned with a white disk, bear- 
ing characters which describe the regiment to 
which they belong. 

Turning back from the gate into the street, 
we shall find it damp with the drippings from the 
water-buckets which the coolies have been carry- 
ing from the river since early morning. A pretty 
vista of bright coloring meets our eyes, formed by 
the signboards, which are not placed over the 
doors only, as in England, but hang down per- 
pendicularly from the projecting eaves. Many of 
them are eight or ten feet long, and are nicely 
varnished and inscribed with some high-flown 
epithet which has been chosen by the owner in- 
stead of his name. And so we meet with a furrier’s 
shop bearing the title “Virtuous and Abundant,” 
and a cloth store called “Celestial Advantage.” 
An undertaker has chosen the title of “United 
and Prosperous,” and a coal merchant calls his 
premises by the high-sounding name of “Heaven- 
ly Adornment.” In summer-time the streets are 
shaded with matting, to protect the passers-by 
from the fierce rays of the sun. 

No carts or carriages are seen in Chinese streets, 
and only an occasional horseman, riding in some 


44 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


mandarin’s procession. Sedan-chairs are in con- 
stant use, varying in size and appearance from 
the official’s roomy and elaborately-decked con- 
veyance to the fragile bamboo erections which are 
found at corners of the thoroughfares waiting to 
be hired, as hansoms stand on the streets of our 
cities. It seems wonderful that room can be 
found for the chairs readily to pass and repass in 
a Chinese street, but the coolies press on through 
the thronging crowds, shouting at the top of their 
voices, “Look out for your backs ! Look out for 
your backs !” 

Here are some coolies carrying baskets of rice 
to the public granaries, while others are heavily 
laden with buckets, full of water from the river 
or lake. Step by step as they plod along they 
drone out their monotonous carrying song, “ Hay 
ho! High ho !” 

Here is a man with his baskets filled with the 
glossy brown pods which are used as soap by the 
natives. Yonder comes a lantern-seller, with fifty 
or more skeletons of lanterns at each end of his 
long pole; it is wonderful to see the dexterity 
with which he avoids mishaps, and manages with 
his cumbersome burden to make his way through 
the crowded streets. Now we are thrust to the 
side of the road by an immense water-buffalo, 
upon whose unwieldy form his keeper, in the 
shape of a small boy, is mounted. Immediately 
after we meet a pig in a large cylindrical bamboo 



CHINESE STREET BARBER. 






FAMILIAR SCENES. 


47 


basket, slung on a long pole and carried by two 
bearers. The Chinese consider it more expedi- 
tious to carry piggy to market than to attempt to 
drive him through their narrow streets. Close 
upon the heels of the pig and his bearers comes 
the procession of some high mandarin. The great 
man sits at ease in his richly-decorated sedan-chair. 
He wears handsome robes of satin, and an expres- 
sion of impassive superiority rests upon his solemn 
countenance. At the head of the great man’s pro- 
cession appear one or two couples of lictors, armed 
with whips and wearing tall conical-shaped felt 
hats. Behind them comes a string of small boys, 
frequently the Arabs of the streets; they carry 
large painted boards upon which the characters 
“Stand aside,” and “Let there be respectful si- 
lence,” appear. Last of all comes the characteris- 
tic umbrella or many-flounced scarlet canopy, 
which is held aloft above the great man’s head 
whenever he alights from his sedan. 

Notwithstanding the narrowness of Chinese 
streets, the space is still further restricted by the 
erection before the open shop-fronts of numerous 
small stalls. Here is the establishment of a trav- 
elling tinker; by his side is the stand of a wander- 
ing physician. Opposite to them we see sitting at 
a small table the money-changer, with his strings 
of cash, his scales, and broken pieces of silver. By 
his side sit the spectacle-mender, the migratory 
barber, and the travelling cook. 


43 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


Let us stop for a moment at this itinerant cook- 
shop, and take a look at some of the viands which 
are pressed upon us. We are not likely to find 
the puppies, snails, and kittens of which we have 
perhaps heard, but here are sausage-balls flavored 
with garlic, minced beef mixed with appetizing 
celery, delicate slices of fried fish, dumplings of 
fat pork flavored with sugar, and griddle-cakes 
fried a beautiful gold color. No; wonder that with 
such a display of delicacies these stalls are liberal- 
ly patronized, and constantly surrounded by groups 
of men taking their meal in this expeditious fash- 
ion. 

Passing by the barber, who drives a brisk trade, 
since most Chinamen have their heads shaved 
every few days, we will spend a few minutes at 
the stall of the well-patronized fortune-teller. 
They profess to be able to predict the future in 
various ways, by dissection of the written charac- 
ter, by tortoises, and by birds. 

A young man approaches with an anxious look 
upon his countenance, and informs the diviner 
that he purposes leaving home for a season, and 
would like to know if his journey will be pros- 
perous or not. ( ‘ Going from home, ’ ’ says the 
fortune-teller, as he calls from his cage the wisest 
and most old-fashioned of birds, tempting him out 
with a grain of rice. Then he shuffles a pack of 
cards containing answers to imaginary questions, 
and birdie is directed to pick one out. He does 


FAMILIAR SCENES. 


49 


so, and the fortune-teller reads the answer, to the 
effect that “The journey will not be prosperous. 
You will lose money by it. Stay at home for a 
little while till a more favorable opportunity.” 

But what is this string of blind men following 
in single file, holding by each other’s garments? 
They are the blind beggars going on their rounds. 
They go from shop to shop, each tradesman giving 
them a small sum, except in cases where the house- 
holders pay them an annual subscription and are 
thus relieved of their calls altogether. 

Here are some more beggars, for they are a 
numerous class in China. They sit on the bare 
earth, and sometimes have a heart-rending account 
of their difficulties written on the pavement before 
them or painted on a board. They seem to be in 
very distressing circumstances, and as they entreat 
the “honorable passer-by” to spare them a single 
cash they knock their foreheads violently against 
the hard stones of the footpath. Frequently we 
observe that they have exercised considerable 
forethought, since their heads are protected by a 
thick leather pad, upon which the force of their 
violent “ko-tow” or head-knocking is spent. 

Here comes a beggar of another kind; it is a 
mendicant priest. He wears a loose yellow robe, 
his head is completely shaved, and no queue of 
braided hair hangs down his back. Around his 
waist is fastened a wooden drum, which he taps 
as he walks along. This curious instrument is 


50 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

used in the temples as an accompaniment to the 
prayers of the priests; the sound it emits when 
struck is peculiarly dull and hollow. These men- 
dicant priests are usually chosen from among the 
rest on account of their superior sanctity. They 
carry a small wallet strapped upon the back, to re- 
ceive the contributions of the faithful, who are 
taught that he who helps a priest contributes to 
his own advancement in the future world. 

Many of the shop-fronts are gay with flowers, 
which are planted in elegant flower-pots brought 
from the far-famed potteries of Chin-teh-tsin, on 
the Poyang Lake. The Chinese are fond of flow- 
ers, and the florist drives a good trade. See him 
as he approaches with his shallow bamboo bas- 
kets, filled with fine plants which it has been his 
aim through careful cultivation to induce to bear 
blossoms of the largest size possible. In the early 
spring he has the fragrant flowers of the la-mei 
and the delicate pink blossoms of the almond. 
Later on there are brilliant azaleas, roses, pinks, 
and peonies, pomegranates and water-lilies; and 
with the cool breezes of early autumn come the 
gorgeous coxcombs of stately height with gigan- 
tic flowers. The delicate, many-tinted chrysan- 
themums are the pride of Chinese gardeners, with 
the beautiful blossoms of the passion-flower and 
the aster. Then the faint, sweet scent of the 
kwei-wha, or fragrant olive, is wafted on every 
breeze, and nature’s incense seems for a time 


FAMILIAR SCENES. 5 1 

almost to overpower the vile odors which rise 
from the crowded streets of every Chinese city. 

Our friend the florist is usually paid a certain 
annual sum by wealthy householders, and en- 
gages in return to keep their courtyards and gar- 
dens gay with flowers the whole year round, find- 
ing even in the dull winter days u things of beau- 
ty,” in the shape of the fragrant narcissus and 
the delicate camellia, to adorn these Chinese 
homes. 

I have said there are no squares in most Chi- 
nese cities, the nearest approach to them being 
the open spaces sometimes seen in front of tem- 
ples or the courtyards of yamens, or magistrates’ 
offices. The latter are frequently adorned with 
extraordinary stone figures of animals which the 
Chinese call lions. They are objects of awe to all 
Chinese children, who hear weird stories of how 
the lions are only stone lions in the day-time, but 
at night they come to life and wander through the 
streets of the city. 

We have been wandering for some time 
through the busy thoroughfares of a Chinese 
town, and now let us enter one of the shops and 
try to do a little business with the comfortable- 
looking tradesman who sits at his ease at the 
other side of the counter and is probably very 
leisurely smoking his pipe. We will suppose that 
we have entered a store stocked with the far- 
famed earthenware of the Celestial Empire. Here 


52 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


are magnificent vases, five feet high, adorned with 
groups of figures painted in delicate colors; close by 
are barrel-shaped stands for flower-pots gavly orna- 
mented, and all kinds of household utensils. Here 
are wine-pots, delicate teacups, and a large number 
of articles which have been produced to supply the 
demand from foreign countries, such as tea-sets of 
English fashion, with handles to the cups, and 
saucers ; little teapots, which are rarely used by 
the natives, and fanciful ornaments of all shapes 
and sizes. The shopkeeper finds us the article 
for which we are seeking, and calmly asks us 
about twice the sum which we know it to be 
worth. We promptly reply that it is far too dear, 
and he slightly reduces the price. This sort of 
bargaining continues for a considerable time, and 
ends by our eventually paying him half the price 
he first asked us — to his intense satisfaction, since 
he has profited considerably by his dealings with 
the outer barbarian, who has doubtless given him 
a far larger sum for his wares than he would re- 
ceive from one of his own countrymen. Before 
we leave — indeed in the midst of our bargain- 
ing — a cup of tea has been presented to us and a 
pipe pressed upon our notice. 

But what is the business of the man who is 
approaching us, carrying two large deep bamboo 
baskets, with a tiny flag attached to one of them 
bearing the legend, “Respect printed paper”? 
As he proceeds, a door here and there opens, and 


FAMILIAR SCENES. 


53 


a man-servant comes out with a waste-basket, 
emptying its contents into the large basket car- 
ried by the collector of scraps. This man is em- 
ployed by some Chinese benevolent society to go 
round and collect even the smallest pieces of 
printed paper, so that they may be carried to 
some temple courtyard and destroyed by fire in a 
furnace set apart for the purpose, for the kitchen 
stove would be considered too secular a place for 
performing such a sacred duty. This is one of 
the works of merit which the Chinese believe 
accumulate for them a sort of balance, to be set 
against the sins they have committed when they 
are judged by the king of the infernal regions at 
the end of life. 

Probably few things have contributed so much 
to the idea that foreigners are uncivilized barba- 
rians as our light regard for our own printed or 
written paper. They see us using it in all sorts 
of ignominious ways. We wrap parcels in it and 
frequently tread it carelessly under foot; conse- 
quently the Chinese not unnaturally conclude 
that we can have nothing worthy the name of a 
language or literature, or we should not treat the 
printed page in so disrespectful a manner. 

Now we are passing a fine tea-shop, the great 
rendezvous of all Chinamen. There they sit in 
large numbers, discussing the topics of the day, 
while the national beverage is freely imbibed. 
Melon-seeds and peanuts are also provided at these 


54 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


establishments, and are taken with the tea. A 
Chinaman will pass the greater part of a day in 
one of these places of public resort, spending prob- 
ably only a penny. 

Before we leave these crowded streets let us 
look at some of the names which they bear. 
Many of them are very high-sounding, and this 
is most frequently the case when the locality is 
low and of bad repute. First we have the street 
of Perpetual Comfort, and near by is the Lane of 
Filial Piety and the Court of Eternal Harmon v. 
Then there is the lane of the Cilia Family, New 
Street, Horse-tail Lane, Thread-and-Needle Al- 
ley, and the street of Heavenly Treasures. 

As we leave the city we pass through two 
heavy stone gateways; outside them the heads of 
criminals are frequently suspended in small bam- 
boo cages — a ghastly sight which seems to be lit- 
tle heeded by the passers-by, although they are 
placed there to awaken terror in the hearts of evil- 
doers. 

Beneath the gateways we shall see various no- 
tices and advertisements pasted up. Announce- 
ments of approaching religious festivals, or the 
ordination sendees of some Buddhist priests, are 
there, advertisements to push the sale of kero- 
sene oil, anti-opium pills, and other quack medi- 
cines, and notices of rewards offered for the dis- 
covery of persons who are missing from their 
homes. 


FAMILIAR SCENES. 


55 


So, with much that is totally different, we find 
many points of similarity between the customs and 
sights of this ancient empire and our own towns, 
and most probably return from our wanderings 
with the reflection that human nature is pretty 
much the same the whole world over. 


56 


IIOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER IV. 

CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 

When a Chinese boy reaches his sixth birth- 
day it is considered quite time he should be sent 
to school. 

The occasion is looked upon as one of such 
importance that a fortune-teller is usually con- 
sulted, and on a lucky day, fixed upon by the 
wise man, the little Chinaman makes his first 
appearance at school. Let 11s follow him when, 
accompanied by his father, he makes his way to 
the schoolhouse. He looks very fresh and tidy, 
his hair has been neatly shaved from his forehead, 
and the rest of it is plaited up into a long black 
queue, a pien-tsz he calls it, which hangs down 
behind. When any of his schoolfellows want to 
torment him they will no doubt tie his pigtail to 
the same appendage on another boy’s head, which 
will be very uncomfortable for them both. 

If it is summer-time our young friend wears 
nothing upon his head, and is only clothed in a 
jacket or vest of loose cotton or grass-cloth, with 
small baggy trousers of the same material. But 
if the weather is cold he will no doubt be wearing 
half a dozen vests and coats, one above another, 
and some of them will be padded with cotton- 



CHINESE BOYS’ SCHOOL. 














Chinese; boys at schooe. 59 

wool. The first thing that strikes you, as you 
look at him, is how very difficult he must find it 
to make any use of his arms. Upon his head he 
wears a small skullcap of black or blue silk, with 
a little scarlet twist at the top, and very likely a 
thick tassel of silken threads falling down behind. 
His shoes have very thick white soles, and very 
often the toes are embroidered by his proud mo- 
ther with fanciful little designs of flowers or but- 
terflies. Sometimes he wears in his girdle a little 
purse, which has also been embroidered by his 
mother, but it will not hold many of the copper 
coins with a hole through the centre, which we 
call ‘ c cash. ’ ’ If he is ever rich enough to have 
saved any number of these coins, he strings them 
on a wisp of straw or piece of string, making a 
firm knot at each end to keep them safe. 

If he does not possess a purse, he is at no loss 
for a receptacle for his boyish treasures, since 
his sleeves are so large and long that they 
form a capital hiding-place. I11 China little 
books are not called pocket editions, but sleeve 
editions; a man does not pocket anything, but he 
“sleeves” it. 

Having reached the schoolhouse, our boy- 
friend enters, carrying in his hand some small 
present for the grave-looking elderly person who 
is to be his teacher, and his first act is to do rev- 
erence and burn incense before the tablet which 
has the name of the sage Confucius written upon 


6o 


HOME-BIKE IN CHINA. 


it. The furniture of the room consists of a num- 
ber of little desks or tables, with high stools be- 
hind them, which are frequently provided by the 
parents. Before the master stands a larger table, 
and upon it are lying not only books and papers, 
but the indispensable pipe. Upon each little 
desk you will see, not pens and ink such as we 
use, but ink-stones, upon which the boys rub the 
cake of Indian, or rather Chinese, ink, dipping 
it in a little water. 

For his pen he has a brush, not unlike our 
large paint-brushes of camel’s hair. He holds it 
perpendicularly in his hand, pointing to the ceil- 
ing, as he traces on the thin, soft paper the queer- 
looking characters on his copy slips. 

English boys would doubtless consider Chinese 
lessons extremely dry and uninteresting, since 
several years have to be spent in learning to re- 
peat the mere sounds and write the forms of the 
characters or picture-words, of the meaning of 
which they understand little more than a parrot. 

There is no alphabet of the Chinese language, 
but two hundred and fourteen radicals or root 
words, which enter into the formation of all the 
other characters. The words are all of one syl- 
lable, and are written down one beneath the other 
in columns, instead of across the page, and the 
beginning of their books is the end of ours. 

The language of China is so ancient that most 
people think it goes back to a time not long after 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 


6l 


the Deluge, and it is the oldest language now 
spoken in the world. The Chinese say that their 
written words or characters were originally hiero- 
glyphics, or rough pictures of the objects of which 
they desired to speak. 

To make my meaning clearer, I will write 
down a few of the pictures drawn by the ancient 
Chinese, and the names attached to them, and 
beneath these you will see the shape of the char- 
acters as they are now written: 


Hieroglyph: 
Present character : 


O A 

(3 n 


Uf 


Sun Moon Child Hill Horse 
It was soon found quite impossible to express 
the requirements of a people in a language neces- 
sarily so limited as one made up of picture-signs 
alone. Gradually the scholars began to use more 
complicated symbols, and frequently a picture- 
word was used in combination with some other 
symbol to make the meaning plain: 

And so the sun Q above the horizon — sig- 
nified morning, and is now written thus JEJ. 

A tree is 7k; a couple of these were placed 
together, and now stand for forest 

A mouth pj in a door conveys the idea of 
asking, thus ff|J. 

Not only is the Chinese language almost 
unique as regards the formation of its written 
characters, but the vast number of words which 

4 


62 


HOME-UFK IN CHINA. 


can be formed from the same radical or root is 
extraordinary. The number of words in the lan- 
guage amounts to over forty thousand, but only a 
very small proportion of these are known to any 
but the literati of the empire. 

The difficulty of the spoken language arises 
from the various tones, the meaning of a word 
varying according to the intonation of the voice, 
one character sometimes having as many as fifteen 
different significations. 

To give an example of this, the word che , pro- 
nounced in exactly the same tone of voice, and 
without an aspirate, has eighteen different mean- 
ings. Among other things, it stands for our 
English nouns — famine, fowl, impediment, foot- 
print, foundation, sieve, and small table, and is 
also used in expressing each and all of the follow- 
ing actions: to wind silk, to ridicule, to crowd, 
to draw water, to strike, and to investigate. 

The same word pronounced in exactly the 
same tone, but with an aspirate, has as many as 
ten different meanings. Among others, it stands 
for whispers, grief, cold, seven, wife, and for the 
verbs to insult, to roost, to varnish, and to de- 
ceive. 

Many absurd blunders are constantly made by 
foreign students of the Chinese language; and we 
hear a man talking about his wives when he 
means to speak of his fowls; calling for a cake, 
and having a bottle brought to him; and making 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 63 

allusion to liis nose when he wishes to talk about 
leather. In each of these cases the difference is 
merely the sounding or dropping of an aspirate. 

Then we hear of a bewildered servant being 
asked to serve his master with a soldier instead of 
a biscuit; and a gentleman imagining that he is 
calling for his hat, when all the time he is asking 
for the cat; and making remarks about a field 
which can only apply to heaven. 

These are some of the pitfalls into which the 
outer barbarian falls when making his first at- 
tempts at conversation in the language of the 
Flowery Land. No wonder that he occasionally 
envies the gift of speech possessed by the chatter- 
ing little Celestials playing in the streets ! 

Having spoken of the difficulties of the lan- 
guage our young Chinaman has to speak and 
write, let us look over his shoulder and see what 
books he is studying. The first of all is the 
u San-Tsz-King,” or u Trim etrical Classic, ” be- 
cause, to make it more easily remembered, it is 
written in lines of three words each. The teach- 
er repeats the first few lines, and the scholars, 
holding their books in their hands and swinging 
their small bodies backwards and forwards, follow 
his pronunciation of the words. They then re- 
turn to their seats and commit the words to mem- 
ory. In order to be sure each small boy is attend- 
ing to his lessons, he is expected to shout out the 
passage he is learning at the top of his voice. 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


64 

The continual din caused by this arrangement 
can be better imagined than described; and when 
you pass a schoolhouse in China you are more 
likely to suspect the existence of Bedlam than of 
a place of learning. 

The first sentence in the Chinese boys’ primer 
runs as follows: “Men at their birth are by na- 
ture radically good.” The importance of study 
is then enlarged upon, and a sentence occurs to 
the effect that ‘ ‘ To educate without severity shows 
a teacher’s indolence.” The sight of the bamboo 
rod, which is found in every schoolroom close to 
the master’s hand, and in very constant use, is a 
proof that this maxim of the sage of old com- 
mends itself to the teachers of the present day. 
Chinese boys then go on to learn that there are 
three great powers: heaven, earth, and man; that 
there are three lights: the sun, moon, and stars. 
They are further informed that rice, millet, pulse, 
wheat, rye, and barley are the six kinds of grain 
on which men subsist. Various other matters of 
a similar kind are touched upon, followed by a 
summary of Chinese history. Afterwards the ex- 
ample of sages and prodigies of past ages is com- 
mended to the notice of the youthful pupils. I 
will mention a few of these eminent examples of 
devotion to literature in olden times. 

One celebrated student, Sun King by name, 
lived more than 2,000 years ago, when the dynas- 
ty of Chau held sway in China. So enthusiastic 


I 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 65 

was his devotion to study that he constantly shut 
himself up in his private apartments, and, lest he 
should be overcome by drowsiness, he fastened 
the hair of his head by a cord to a beam in the 
roof. 

Another eminent scholar, whose family was 
poor, studied by the light from a number of glow- 
worms he had collected. And yet another conned 
his task by the light reflected from the snow. One 
committed his lesson to memory while bending 
beneath the weight of a load of faggots he carried 
on his back; and yet another, whose thirst for 
knowledge could be controlled by no difficulties, 
fastened his book to the horns of one of the cows 
he was tending. 

One “pattern of industry” took up his abode 
in the fastnesses of a celebrated mountain to study 
for his first degree. It was his custom to cast all 
family letters aside unopened when he had ascer- 
tained that the characters signifying peace and 
health appeared upon the cover. His motive in 
so doing was to keep his mind free from all dis- 
traction of outside matters. A boy at the age of 
seven is described as being in all his conduct 
most dignified and decorous. He always used a 
round piece of wood for his pillow so that he 
could awake easily and apply himself diligently 
to his studies. A second lad, who lived before 
the Christian era, for all these wonderful speci- 
mens of devotion to literature seem to have flour- 


66 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


ished in far-distant ages, was, although very poor, 
most anxious to become a scholar. He hit upon 
the device of boring a hole through the partition 
of his room to the house of his next-door neigh- 
bor. By the faint light from his friend’s lamp, 
which struggled through the chink he had made, 
he pored over his books and became ultimately 
famous. At the age of seven Wang Yu-ching 
could compose remarkable literary essays. He 
was the prottg& of a certain assistant prefect, who 
was charmed with his singular talents. One day 
this gentleman was dining w T ith a friend, and the 
common Chinese entertainment of suggesting the 
first line of an impromptu stanza was introduced, 
the guests being invited to match the line. It 
w r as as follows: “The parrot, though it talks, can- 
not compare with the phoenix.” None of the 
visitors were equal to the task, but upon return- 
ing home the assistant prefect’s little friend im- 
mediately suggested the admirable line, “The 
spider, though skilful, cannot compare with the 
silk- worm.” 

Chinese boys know something of arithmetic 
and calculate very rapidly; but they do this with 
their little “abacus,” or counting-board. 

Several other books are studied, and the clas- 
sic of “ Filial Piety ” is largely used as a reading 
book, and is more common in China than any 
“Boy’s Own Paper” in England. Some of the 
stories it contains give such graphic glimpses of 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 67 

Chinese life and character that I cannot do better 
than relate a few of them for your amusement. 

mang tsung and the bamboo shoots. 

In days of old, during the dynasty of Chin, 
there lived a lad who was called Mang Tsung. 
While still very young he had the misfortune to 
lose his father. With a filial heart he constantly 
did reverence before the carved tablet within 
which dwelt the spirit of his departed sire. More 
than this, he devoted himself to the care of his 
widowed mother, serving her with unwearying 
devotion and seeking to supply her every want. 
Now it happened one day, in the middle of win- 
ter, when the land was covered with a thin man- 
tle of snow, and trees were bare of leaves, that 
Mang’s mother fell ill and would eat no food. 
Wearily she murmured, “ If I could but have a 
dish of the bamboo shoots which are found in the 
bright spring-time, I would eat of them and be 
restored to strength again. ’ ’ 

o o 

His mother’s words pierced poor Mang Tsung’ s 
tender heart. He desired that her every wish 
should be gratified; but how could the most dili- 
gent seeker find young bamboo shoots in the 
depth of winter ? With a heavy heart the lad 
crept away from his old mother’s side and went 
out into the open street. He wandered along, 
scarce knowing whither he went, till he came to 
the bamboo grove in the shadow of an ancient 


63 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


temple. Falling full length upon the bare, frozen 
earth, he clasped his arms around the shining, 
glossy stems of the graceful bamboos, watering 
the ground meanwhile with his fast-falling tears, 
when, lo ! the bare, wintry earth around the roots 
became loosened and was pierced by the tender 
white shoots of the young bamboos. Joyfully 
Mang cut them down, and, hurrying home, 
cooked and presented the longed-for dainty to his 
sick mother. 

Eagerly she partook of the dish procured for 
her by the devotion of her son, and before she had 
finished the repast her strength returned and she 
was restored to health again. And so influenced 
were heaven and earth by the pious conduct of 
this filial son that ever since the bamboos have 
continued to put forth their shoots in the dull 
days of winter, instead of waiting for the awaken- 
ing and vivifying influences of the spring. 

LAO LAI-TSZ; OR, THE FILIAL SON. 

Long, long ago, at the time when the kings 
of the Chow dynasty ruled in China, 3,000 years 
since, there lived a man whose name was Lao 
Lai-tsz. He had attained to the age of 70, but 
since his venerable parents were still alive, he 
always declared that he was not old, and refused 
to be addressed by the title “Venerable” or “An- 
cient.” His one desire in life seemed to be to 
make his beloved relatives forgetful of the flight 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL- 69 

of time, and to fill their hearts with mirth and 
gladness. He provided for them the daintiest of 
dishes, and served them day and night with un- 
wearying devotion. Very often he would dress 
himself in a coat of many colors, just as if he 
were once more a child. Then he would dance 
and play before the old people, holding in his 
hands the toys of his infancy. Now and then he 
would go to the well and bring back a pail of 
clear water. Entering the guest-room, he would 
stumble like a child upon the threshold and, fall- 
ing upon the floor, pretend to cry piteously. 
Then running up to his old parents’ side, he 
would beg to be comforted by them as in the 
days of his childhood. All this was done by Lao 
Lai-tsz with the noble object of gratifying and 
amusing his venerable relatives, and making 
them forget, for a time at least, their great age 
and imagine that they were once more the youth- 
ful parents of a little child. 

THE REWARD OF KOH KU. 

In the time of the dynasty of Han there lived 
a man whose name was Koh Kii. His aged mo- 
ther was sheltered beneath his roof, and he and 
his wife were the parents of a fine boy three years 
of age. Very happily they lived together, till ad- 
versity like a dark cloud brooded over the little 
family, and the father’s labor could barely main- 
tain them. Day by day the ancient dame shared 


70 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

with her little grandson her scanty meal. The 
cruel hand of famine rested upon them; their fa- 
ces grew thin and their strength failed. Then 
one day Koh Kii called to his wife to bring out 
the child and follow him. Shouldering his spade, 
he hastened on beyond the bamboo fence which 
bounded their small homestead, and, coming to a 
standstill, he addressed his wife in the following 
words: U I have, alas! become so poor as to be 
unable to support my mother, and the child is 
constantly sharing the small portion of its grand- 
mother, while both are growing weaker before 
our eyes. Another child may possibly be born to 
us, but a mother once dead can never return 
again. Let us bury the child, so that we may 
have sufficient for the maintenance of my mo- 
ther.” 

The terrified wife was silent with fear ; she 
dared not dispute her husband’s will, but held the 
little one pressed closely to her bosom while the 
husband dug the grave of his living child. Sud- 
denly she heard a dull tinkling sound as the spade 
struck against some hard substance. It was fol- 
lowed by an exclamation of joy, and she soon saw 
her husband lifting some object out of the half- 
dug grave. It was a pot of gold, and bore the 
following inscription: “Heaven bestows this 

treasure upon the dutiful son, Koh Kii. The 
magistrates must not claim it, neither must his 
neighbors attempt to take it from him.” 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 


7 1 


In such a signal manner did Heaven reward 
the filial son who valued so lightly the life of his 
child in comparison with the well-being of his 
aged mother. 


THE IMAGES THAT WEPT. 

Ting L,an was a man who lived in the days of 
the Han dynasty. His parents both died while he 
was still an infant, so that he was unable to repay 
them in the smallest degree for all their love and 
care. He was always longing to discover some 
way in which he could make his departed parents 
conscious of his deep devotion. One day he was 
seized with an inspiration, and taking up a piece 
of fragrant wood, he carved out of it the figures of 
his deceased parents, and henceforth tried to sat- 
isfy his loving heart by constantly watching and 
tending them as if they were indeed the forms of 
his beloved relatives. 

Now it happened that Ting Lan’s wife was a 
woman who had little sympathy with him in his 
filial devotion; in fact, she often made fun of him, 
refusing to do reverence before the images or to 
take her share in waiting upon them. At last a 
day came when Ting Lan was absent from home, 
and it occurred to his wife that she would amuse 
herself by pricking the wooden hands of the im- 
ages with her needle; when, behold, drops of blood 
were seen to flow from the scars she had made, 
and soon after, upon the return of her husband, 


72 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


he discovered that tears were falling from their 
eyes. He investigated the cause of their grief, 
and upon discovering it this filial son divorced his 
irreverent wife, sending her away from his home 
for ever. 

THE STORY OF WANG LIANG. 

In the far-away time of the dynasty of Chin 
there lived a boy whose name was Wang Liang. 
When he was very young he had the misfortune 
to lose his mother. His father soon afterwards 
married a woman whose name was Chu. This 
new wife was of a scolding and unamiable dispo- 
sition, and she took a violent dislike to her small 
stepson. Daily and hourly she had some fault to 
find with him, and was always complaining of 
him to his father. Wang Liang felt this to be the 
unkindest cut of all, since even his father’s appro- 
val was no longer his. At length a day came 
when the sky was dull and leaden, while the 
streets and roofs of the houses were white with 
fallen snow. Not only were the little icicles 
hanging from the curled eaves of the houses, but 
pond and lake and river were alike covered with 
a thick sheet of ice. Mrs. Wang had enlivened 
the dull hours of the short winter’s day with 
ceaseless complaints, till at last, throwing herself 
down on her stiff-backed chair, and warming her 
arms with a small hand-stove which was hidden 
away in her capacious sleeves, she exclaimed, 


CHINESE BOYS AT SCHOOL. 73 

‘‘Would that I had a dish of carp fresh from the 
lake !” 

Now that was an extremely foolish desire for 
Mrs. Wang to give expression to, since, with 
every piece of water for miles around covered 
with ice, how was it possible for any one to ob- 
tain fresh fish? But her stepson, who had listened 
silently to her exclamation, crept quietly out of 
the room, and slipping on his bright-colored wind- 
cap and thrusting his small hands up into his long 
sleeves, he hurried along to the river-side. 

It stretched away before him in the silent 
moonlight, a plain of ice dusted with powdery 
snow. 

Hastily he cast aside his garments till he was 
all exposed to the keen blast of the wild winter 
wind. Then he threw himself down on the un- 
yielding ice in the hope that the warmth from his 
small shivering body would melt it away beneath 
him. Upon such filial devotion as this Heaven 
will always smile, and the thick sheet of ice was 
made to melt away beneath the dutiful lad, and 
two fine carp leaped out from the dark-flowing 
stream. They were joyfully seized by the lad’s 
ready hand, and hastily attiring himself he made 
his way to his father’s house. 

Kneeling at the feet of his unamiable step- 
mother, while he knocked his head to the ground, 
he presented her with the fish for which she had 
apparently so vainly longed. 


74 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


The little book from which these stories are 
extracted is known by the title of the “Twenty- 
four Examples of Filial Piety.” Each story is 
illustrated with a wood-cut representing the hero 
engaged in performing his special act of filial 
piety. There is little doubt that the incidents 
recorded in this small volume, and accepted by 
the Chinese as historical facts, have been in no 
small decree influential in forming the characters 

o o 

of China’s rising generation. A favorite Chinese 
proverb teaches that “Of the hundred virtues the 
chief is filial piety,” and no other duty is so care- 
fully and constantly instilled into the children’s 
minds as this. 


CHINESE BOYS AT PEAY. 


75 


CHAPTER V. 

CHINESE BOYS AT PEAY. 

But what about the life of these little China- 
men and Chinawomen when school-work is over 
and lessons done? Surely, though they are 
dressed in clothing of the same pattern as their 
grandfathers and grandmothers, and have such 
wonderful memories for their extremely dry and 
uninteresting lessons, they must occasionally find 
time for a romp or game of some sort, or they 
would not be boys and girls at all. This is per- 
fectly true; and though the Chinese boys have no 
cricket or football, no marbles or hockey, and un- 
derstand nothing of paper-chases and boating, 
they are not without some amusements; and even 
if they are a trifle more old-fashioned and sober 
than our children, yet they enjoy their games 
quite as heartily. 

Kite-flying is the great delight of Chinese 
boys, though not of boys alone, but also of their 
fathers and grandfathers. And what famous kites 
they have too ! Some are in the form of beautiful 
birds or butterflies, with wings cleaving the air; 
others are in the shape of men or various animals, 
dragons, and centipedes. Occasionally a tiny pa- 
per lantern is fastened to the tail of a kite, and 


76 


HOME-LIFE in china. 


being lighted it has a very pretty effect as it rises, 
shining like a star in the twilight. Sometimes a 
number of bird-kites are fastened by short lines to 
the principal cord, and when flying in the air look 
like a flight of birds clustering round one common 
centre. 

The great day for the commencement of kite- 
flying is the ninth of the ninth moon ; and the 
selection of this particular day has, like most 
things in China, a superstitious origin. “Once 
upon a time,” they say, “ in the far-away ages of 
the past, a man was warned that on a certain day 
a great calamity would befall him and his. When 
the time came round the man, with every member 
of his household, decided to leave home and spend 
the day in the country among the hills. Upon 
returning at nightfall he found that all his domes- 
tic animals were dead. The day was the ninth of 
the ninth month; and ever since people have been 
careful to absent themselves from home on that 
singularly inauspicious day; and in order to enli- 
ven the time they amuse themselves by flying 
kites.” 

Then there are the lanterns, of all sizes and 
shapes, which are the pride of the first month of 
the year. Gay indeed are the streets of a Chinese 
city from the tenth to the fifteenth of the first 
moon; for though most of the shops are closed and 
all other business suspended for nearly a fortnight, 
the lantern-sellers do a brisk trade. Chinese in- 


CHINESE BOYS AT PEAY. 


77 


genuity is taxed to find new shapes for these lan- 
terns. The salesmen, with their wares attached 
to long bamboo poles, take up their positions out- 
side the closed shop-fronts, and the streets are so 
crowded with spectators and buyers that it is 
very difficult to make one’s way along. 

Most of the lanterns are made of bright-colored 
paper over a light bamboo framework. Some 
are made in the shape of a ball fixed to the end of 
a stick, others are like rabbits, horses, or fowls, and 
are mounted on wheels. Some are in the form 
of shrimps, crabs, or beetles ; others are representa- 
tions of favorite flowers, such as the lotus and 
camellia. A large number are made of gauze or 
silk, and have mythological or historical scenes 
painted upon them. But the most expensive of 
all contain wheels and fine wires, which are made 
to revolve by the heated air inside when the lan- 
tern is lighted. The small figures on the outside, 
to whose heads, legs, or arms the wires are at- 
tached, then begin to move, and we see here an 
old man fishing, there a ferryman rowing across 
a stream, and here, again, two Chinese gentlemen 
exchanging New Year’s greetings. 

When Chinese children want more active 
amusements, they play battledore and shuttle- 
cock, only the battledore is usually the thick sole 
of the shoe or the instep of the foot. It is quite 
common to see the shuttlecock struck two or three 
hundred times without a single miss. 

Home-Life la China. r 


78 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


u Ta chiau,” or hitting the ball, is another 
favorite game. Our boys would no doubt consid- 
er it rather monotonous, since it is simply played 
by striking the ball to the ground with the hand 
as many times as possible. 

“ Ta teh-lo ” is whipping the top. A Chinese 
top is made of bamboo, with a piece of wood go- 
ing through it, and a large hole is cut in the side, 
which makes it have a fine humming sound as it 
spins. u Hiding from the cat ” is not unlike our 
“blind man’s buff,” one child having his eyes 
blinded and trying to catch the others, who es- 
cape from him in all directions. 

‘ ‘ Catching shrimps ’ ’ is another game in which 
all the boys have their eyes covered and try to 
catch each other. “Ta pan” is not unlike hop- 
scotch. Every child has a small flat stone or a 
copper cash, and, standing on a marked line, tries 
to strike the stone which has been thrown by the 
first boy. 

“ Turning the dragon ” is the favorite amuse- 
ment of Chinese boys in the spring-time; and, like 
most of their pleasures, it has a religious or su- 
perstitious signification. The passage of this fabu- 
lous animal through the streets of their cities is 
believed to be very effectual in dispelling all evil 
influences, especially a tendency to various sick- 
nesses thought to exist in the first month of the 
year. 

The body of the dragon is composed of a large 



CHINESE PUNCH AND JUDY. 





CHINESE BOYS AT PLAY. 


Si 


number of lanterns fastened together, and covered 
with colored paper and cloth. It is frequently 
thirty or forty feet long. The numerous joints of 
which it is composed make it capable of being 
twisted and turned in all directions, and its for- 
midable-looking head and wagging tail make it 
indeed a striking object. 

Long poles are attached to a number of the 
joints, and in the evening it is brightly lighted up. 
As the many-jointed creature is carried through 
the streets, turning and twisting in all directions, 
rearing its ill-favored head and gaping mouth, it 
is pursued by immense crowds of people. The 
procession accompanying it makes a most un- 
earthly din, beating gongs and letting off squibs 
and crackers, to the great amazement of the West- 
ern stranger who for the first time looks upon 
the singular spectacle. 

Another game somewhat similar to this is de- 
scribed as the u lion playing with the ball.” The 
lion is made in very much the same way as the 
dragon, and is carried by two men or boys. Poles 
are not usually employed, as in carrying the drag- 
on ; but the boys insert their heads in the body 
of the monster, while their figures and legs are 
dressed to represent the imaginary legs of the an- 
imal. This representation of the king of beasts 
is made with gaping jaws, which are a great con- 
venience to the persons who put themselves in 
the position of his legs and feet, since they can 


82 


home-lips in china. 


see through the opening what is going on. The 
Chinese have an idea that the lion is very fond of 
playing with a ball, and accordingly a boy walks 
in front of the procession carrying a very large 
one. This young hopeful darts across the lion’s 
path, running hither and thither to his heart’s 
content ; and wherever the ball is seen the lion 
follows, causing great amusement not only to the 
boys who take part in the procession, but to the 
spectators who crowd the streets. 

The performances of the Punch and Judy 
shows are much appreciated by Chinese children, 
and many people are inclined to believe they were 
introduced into England from China. In any case 
they were well known in that empire many hun- 
dreds of years ago. 

As for the pets of Chinese boys, some of them 
are identical with those which are prized by our 
children — such as rabbits, kittens, and gold-fish. 
Crickets are also very largely kept by boys, as 
well as older people. Chinamen are so fond of 
gambling that it is no wonder we should see the 
children imitating their fathers, and the boys are 
very fond of placing two of these insects in a bowl 
or deep dish and irritating them with a straw or 
stick till they begin to fight desperately, each boy 
risking the few cash he may possess on the chance 
of the cricket he selects being the winner of the 
fight. 

They have many favorite birds, among others 







CHINESE TOY SELLER 




CHINESE BOYS AT PL,AY. 


85 


tlie canary and lark, and one very much prized is 
a sort of thrush, called the “bird with the flowery 
eyebrow.” You may often see the boys walking 
on the city walls or other open spaces carrying 
their caged birds out for an airing. Another little 
creature which affords them much amusement is 
the cicada, which they capture in the early sum- 
mer-time while he sings his hoarse song on the 
flower-stalks or among the bushes. The poor in- 
sect is confined in a tiny cage of bamboo, and is 
occasionally poked up by his juvenile owner to 
drone out as hoarse and unmusical a ditty as ever 
he chirruped in the days of his freedom. Hedge- 
hogs and tortoises are also kept as pets ; the tor- 
toise is believed to attain to a great age, and is 
used, with the stork, as an emblem of longevity. 

Few Chinese toys are of a durable nature. 
There are not many toy-shops, but cheap play- 
things are sold by an itinerant vender of small 
wares, whose approach is announced by the beat- 
ing of a gong, which calls the children as quickly 
out of the houses as the music of Hamelin’s Pied 
Piper is said to have done. They gather in 
crowds round his baskets loaded with clay or 
pasteboard figures. Here are cages with minia- 
ture birds in them, ladies riding on nondescript 
animals supposed to represent mules, carts carry- 
ing a drum which beats as the wheels revolve. 
Figures of genii and idols abound, and now T and 
then an extraordinary figure is seen whose light- 


86 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


colored locks, tight-fitting clothing, and the stick 
carried in the hand, proclaim it to be intended for 
a ‘ 1 foreign barbarian. ’ ’ 

Most Chinese children are possessed of the 
proverbial “sweet tooth,” and the demand for 
sugar-candy and sweetmeats is very liberally sup- 
plied. The whole stock in trade of the Chinese 
confectioner is often carried in two baskets sus- 
pended on a pole from the man’s shoulders. One 
basket contains the pots, pans, and other utensils 
necessary for the prosecution of his trade ; the 
other a tempting array of sweets of all shapes and 
sizes. Some are of various bright colors and cu- 
rious shapes, and many contain morsels of ground- 
nuts or walnuts. In front of these sugar-stalls a 
revolving pointer is often seen, a circle of barley- 
sugar being ranged beneath it. Few Chinese 
boys are able to resist the temptation of paying 
down their cash for a turn at the wheel, in the 
hope that they may gain two or three sticks for 
their money instead of one. 

Nuts are also in great demand among Chinese 
schoolboys. Besides walnuts and ground-nuts, 
they have water-nuts, and are fond of melon and 
sunflower seeds; while small pieces of sugar-cane, 
sold at the rate of one-twentieth part of a penny 
each, are eagerly bought up. So you see that 
Chinese boys are not unlike our own children in 
enjoying a good game of play, and they also very 
highly appreciate the sweetmeats upon which so 



ITINERANT SELLER OF SWEETMEATS. 








CHINESE BOYS AT PE AY. 89 

many pennies are spent with so much satisfaction 
in our own land. 

The difference between Chinese boys and ours 
lies in the fact that with us active sports requiring 
physical exertion are commended ; whereas in 
China all violent exercise is discouraged, and a 
boy is taught that the more dignified and grave 
his deportment the greater approbation will he 
receive from his elders. 

Chinese boys are fond of asking riddles, and 
some of the juvenile prodigies of ancient days are 
represented as having been very clever in com- 
posing these enigmas. Many of them it is not 
possible to give in English, because they are puns 
upon Chinese words, and others relate to some 
peculiarity in the way in which a character is 
written, or to some resemblance it bears to an- 
other character with a different meaning. 

I will give two of the latter: 

u A joking Siuts’ai, or Bachelor of Arts, asked 
a Buddhist priest (who as a class are usually igno- 
rant), ‘ How do you write “bald pate”?’ alluding 
to the shaven head which is the distinctive mark 
of the Buddhist priesthood. 

“ ‘ That is quite easy,’ was the unexpected re- 
ply. 1 1 take the Bachelor of Art’s tail and turn 
it round.’ ” 

5^ Bachelor of Arts. ^ Bald head. 

Another somewhat similar in form to many 
popular English riddles is the following: 


go 


HOME-LIFE IN china. 


“What is that which raises its head in em- 
barrassment and lowers it in wealth?” 

“The character In wealth it is at the 
foot, in embarrassment J|| at the head, of the 
character of which it forms a part.” 

Others of a different kind are more readily un- 
derstood in our country, so I will mention sev- 
eral. 

‘ ‘ What is the fire that has no smoke, and the 
water that has no fish ?’ ’ 

“ A glow-worm’s fire has no smoke, and well- 
water has no fish.” 

“Mention the name of an object with two 
mouths, which travels by night and not by 
day?” 

“A lantern.” 

“What is that of which we have too much, 
and that of which we desire more?” 

“A summer day is too long, on account of 
the great heat, and we wish a winter day were 
longer.” 

“What are the eyes of heaven, the bones of 
water, and the looking-glass of the sky ?’ ’ 

The answers are, “ Stars, ice, and the sea.” 
“What is it that has a gaping mouth and 
marches on like an invading army, devouring at 
every step ?’ ’ 

‘ ‘ A pair of scissors cutting cloth. ’ ’ 

The amusement of solving riddles is so popu- 
lar in China among all classes that at the time of 


CHINESE BOYS AT PE AY. 


91 


the u Feast of the Lanterns ” you may often see a 
group of literary men, as well as the common peo- 
ple, gathered round a doorway over which hangs 
a lantern upon which several enigmas are writ- 
ten. 

Prizes varying from several hundreds of cash 
to some trifling gift of nuts, sweetmeats, etc. , are 
offered for the correct solution of these riddles, 
and crowds of people collect and engage in eager 
competition, rather on account of the sport afford- 
ed than for the value of the prize offered. 


92 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER VI. 

CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 

IF you were to ask a Chinaman how many 
children he had in his family, he would reply by 
telling you the number of his sons. The girls 
among them are not counted. Why should such 
worthless little beings be reckoned in with their 
ever- welcome, eagerly-desired brothers? 

u A boy is worth ten times as much as a girl,” 
and, “If a girl does no harm, it is enough: you 
cannot expect her to be either useful or good,” 
are two of the common sayings of which I could 
quote many to show you how lightly the daugh- 
ters of China are valued. 

How I wish the girls of our country would 
think sometimes of their little sisters in far-off 
China, girls looking back to a childhood all 
unlike that of our happy daughters, to a future 
more different still ! 

Eet us take a peep into some of these Chinese 
homes, both of the richer and the poorer classes, 
and try and find out the sort of life the girls live, 
and why they are thought so little of. 

One reason for the universal feeling that girls 
are useless burdens is hinted at in the Chinese 
proverb, “A daughter is like a fine young bam- 


CHINESE GIRES AT HOME. 93 

boo springing up just outside your garden fence.” 
That is, the child may be fair and lovable, but 
she does not belong to you — as soon as she is old 
enough to repay a parent’s care she goes off into 
another family and is rarely if ever seen by her 
own relatives. 

Girls in China are married, or taken into the 
family of the little boy to whom they are be- 
trothed, at such an early age that their parents 
see very little of them after the years of childhood 
are past. 

But a stronger reason than this lies in the fact 
of the disappointment that parents feel when for 
the first time a baby girl opens her eyes upon the 
strange new world and takes the place, as it seems 
to them, of the boy they would have been so glad 
to welcome. And why, you will ask, do they 
value their sons so much ? Principally, perhaps, 
because the more sons they have the more impor- 
tant people they will be, since these sons will not 
only always remain under their father’s roof, but 
young wives will be brought there and families 
grow up in the same house. A man with many 
sons becomes before long a person of importance. 

Besides this, it is believed that when a man 
dies and passes into the unseen world he needs 
food and clothing and money, just as he did while 
on earth. The Chinese profess to have found out 
a plan for supplying a dead man with all he 
needs. Paper money, paper garments, paper 


94 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


houses, furniture, and servants are all burned, and 
are thus transmitted into the world beyond the 
grave. And only boys can render this service to 
their parents. If a family consists of girls only, 
then no one will be able to worship and burn in- 
cense before the spirit tablet which will be set up 
in the home of the departed when they die, which 
one of their spirits is supposed to enter. For a 
Chinaman believes he has three souls, and at 
death one is buried with the body, another enters 
the unseen world, the third dwells in the tablet. 
The hungry, unclothed spirits of those who leave 
behind them no sons to attend to their wants will 
wander destitute and homeless in the dim regions 
of the spirit-world. Is it wonderful, when they 
believe this, that girls are despised and lightly 
valued by the Chinese, while boys are highly 
prized and fondly loved ? 

Sometimes, soon after a little girl is bom, her 
father will call in a blind fortune-teller, who is 
supposed to know all about the future. These 
men are constantly seen going up and down Chi- 
nese streets, beating on the little gong they carry 
in their hands to let people know they are com- 
ing. When the fortune-teller is questioned about 
the little girl, and told the year, month, day, and 
hour of her birth, he makes a calculation, and, 
perhaps, tells them that their little daughter will 
be very unfortunate all through life; she has been 
born under a very unlucky star, and nothing she 


CHINESE GIRRS AT HOME. 


95 


does will prosper. Then the parents think, if 
their child is likely to be so unfortunate, they had 
better at once give her to some nuns to be brought 
up by them, since then she will at least never 
want for food or clothing. These child nuns are 
taught by the older inhabitants of the nunnery to 
weave and embroider, and not unfrequently to 
read and write. They serve the elder devotees 
and assist in the temple services, and, on the 
whole, their lot is less hard than that of many 
Chinese girls in their own homes. 

Sometimes the fortune-teller says that the little 
girl’s fate is bad : not only will she be unfortu- 
nate, but if they keep her in the house she will be 
the cause of harm to her friends; worst of all, her 
brother may very likely die. Perhaps he was 
born in a year of the cycle named “ Hare,” and if 
she were born on a day of the cycle of the “Dog” 
then her influence will certainly prove fatal to 
him, unless she be removed, since hares are de- 
stroyed by dogs. In this case the little girl will 
probably be given away to some woman who is 
willing to bring up a child as the future wife of 
her little son. It is considered necessary that an 
arrangement of this kind should be closed by 
money, and a sum no larger than a shilling is not 
unfrequently given, because such little girls are 
thought to be worth nothing. “Is that your 
daughter?” I have sometimes asked a Chinese 
woman, as I have seen a little girl sitting by her 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 






96 


side. “No, she is betrothed to my son,” is a fre- 
quent reply as she looks away to a small boy play- 
ing merrily, with his thoughts more exercised by 
the making of mud-pies than anything else. 

If a girl is blind or lame her chances of life are 
small. 

One child whom I knew well was lame, and 
her family determined to get rid of her, so they 
carried her to the gate of the Mission compound 
and left her there, to see if the “Jesus teachers’’ 
cared to take her. How glad she was when she 
was taken in, dressed in comfortable clothing, fed, 
and kindly spoken to ! How eagerly she listened 
to the sweet story of Jesus and his love; of how 
he made the lame to walk, and placed his hands 
on little children’s heads, and loves them still — 
girls even, as well as boys ! 

You can guess how pleased the missionaries 
were when, years after, they used to hear the 
lame girl telling to new arrivals in the school the 
joyful gospel news which had made her own heart 
glad. She has gone home now to the mansions 
prepared for Chinese as well as English children. 

I think she often felt very thankful she was lame, 
even though she suffered severe pain at times, for 
if she had been strong and well her parents might 
never have laid her down at the missionaries’ 
gate, and, like many millions of Chinese chil- 
dren, she might have died without hearing of the 
Eord Jesus. 


* 











CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 


97 


What do these Chinese girls look like? you 
may ask. Well, many of them have bright, at- 
tractive faces, and all have very dark eyes. They 
wear their raven locks dressed in different ways, 
according to the province in which they live. In 
most parts the hair is drawn back and twisted into 
one heavy strand, which hangs down the back 
and is tied with scarlet cord. Frequently the 
front hair is cut, making a fringe similar to an 
English fashion. Sometimes two plaits are made 
and bunched up at either side of the head, being 
decorated with gayly-colored flowers. At other 
times, especially in the winter season, they wear 
a strange little head-dress, consisting of a silken 
embroidered band, with a thick black silk fringe 
hanging down over the forehead and ears. When 
a girl is about thirteen years of age her hair is put 
up in womanly style. It is twisted round curious 
wire frames of various shapes. Some are like but- 
terflies’ wings, others resemble a teapot handle. 
Other young ladies wear enormous chignons, and 
Manchu girls have their hair tied in a large bow 
upon the top of their heads. Until their marriage 
most girls wear the hair in front dressed round, 
keeping the natural appearance of the forehead. 
After the wedding it is dressed square. This ap- 
pearance is obtained by pulling out the hairs round 
the forehead, making it look broad and high. 
Even little girls frequently wear heavy ear-rings, 
bracelets, and rings, if they belong to a rich family. 


9 8 


HOME-LIFE in china. 


When in holiday attire most girls have their 
cheeks adorned with rouge, and a little touch of 
it just under the lower lip. They also use white 
powder very plentifully. 

A Chinese girl is very little troubled with con- 
siderations of fashion. It is true there is a slight 
difference in the cut of the garments worn by girls 
and women of different provinces. Most frequent- 
ly the more costly tunics and embroidered skirts 
descend from the grandmother down to several 
generations of her grandchildren. It is true that 
certain shades in the color of material are in 
greater favor one year than another, that the 
width of the sleeves and the style of trimming 
does to some extent vary, but by no means in the 
degree that is found in Western lands. 

In summer the underclothing of the middle 
and upper classes is usually composed of fine 
grass-cloth,’ in winter of cotton cloth. The outer 
garments are all of the same shape, but differ 
much in material and color. In summer the 
loose tunic or pelisse is often made of beautiful 
silky Chinese gauze, and will be in color light 
blue, green, or gray. The trousers or pantalettes 
are frequently of the same material of a different 
color, and you will often see red silk trousers with 
a green tunic, and purple gauze trousers with a 
pelisse of figured blue silk. These gorgeous gar- 
ments are trimmed with gold braid intermixed 
with silk of various shades, and the large sleeves 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 


99 


of the best tunics are trimmed with broad strips 
of satin embroidered with fairy landscapes or birds 
and flowers. 

But the most important part of a young girl’s 
dress in China is her shoes. Such tiny shoes they 
are, of colored silk or satin, most tastefully em- 
broidered, with brightly-painted heels just peep- 
ing beneath the neat pantalette; and the feet are 
supposed to merit the poetical name bestowed 
upon them of “golden lilies.” But how sad it is 
to discover that such a result is produced by inde- 
scribable torture, and that the part of the foot 
which is not seen is nothing but a mass of dis- 
torted or broken bones ! 

This deformity is produced, not by iron or 
wooden shoes, as is sometimes supposed, but by 
narrow cotton bandages about three yards long. 
They are applied when the little girl is six years 
old. 

One end of the strip of cotton is placed be- 
neath the instep and then carried over the four 
small toes, drawing them down beneath the foot. 
Another twist draws the heel and great toe nearer 
together, making an indentation beneath the sole. 
When all the cloth has been used, the end is firm- 
ly sewed down, and the feet are left for a week or 
two in that condition. Clean bandages are now 
and then put on, but the change has to be very 
rapidly effected, or the blood begins again to cir- 
culate in the poor benumbed feet, and the agony 

6 


IOO 


home-eiee in china. 


becomes almost unbearable. Not unfrequently 
during the process a girl loses one or two of her 
toes, but she feels repaid for the pain she endures 
by being the possessor of still smaller feet. Mo- 
thers and nurses frequently perform this duty for 
their daughters, and in passing a Chinese home 
one sometimes hears the bitter crying of a child 
whose feet are being bound. 

Yet so strong is the power of fashion that 
sooner than be unlike other girls, or have to bear 
the derision of their neighbors, who will laugh at 
them and say, “Just look at those two boats go- 
ing by,” in reference to their large feet, they pre- 
fer to endure the pain. I have known cases of 
little girls, whose parents had been induced by the 
missionaries to refrain from binding their feet, 
who would actually procure bandages and try to 
do the binding themselves. 

For the first year or so the children suffer con- 
stant pain. By numberless devices they try to 
benumb the feet and relieve agony. Through the 
weary summer days they lie restless with fever 
upon the cool mats of their couch, and when the 
cold nights of winter come they are afraid to wrap 
themselves in any covering, since if the limbs 
grow warm the suffering becomes more intense. 
When the feet are first bound it is very difficult to 
use them. Girls can only move about by means 
of two stools, upon which they rest their knees 
and which are moved alternately by their hands. 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 


IOI 


At last this much-desired smallness is obtained, 
the girl’s foot is deformed for life, and she is 
greatly admired by all her friends. 

“What a good mother she must have had!” 
is a remark frequently made when a girl is seen 
with smaller feet than usual. 

“Ah,” said a Chinese mother to me, who was 



GOLDEN LILIES— BARE AND SHOD. 


grieving over the death of her daughter, ‘ ‘ she was 
a grown-up girl. Had she been little I should not 
have minded at all ; and she had the tiniest of tiny 
feet” Not, “Is she good or clever or beautiful?” 
do the guests ask at a Chinese wedding, but, 
i ‘ What is the size of her foot ?’ ’ * 


102 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


Three inches is the correct length of the fash- 
ionable shoes in which Chinese ladies toddle and 
limp, supporting themselves on a child’s shoulder 
or by means of a strong staff. Some very wealthy 
ladies are the possessors of feet which are almost 
useless, and as they can hardly walk from one 
room to another in their spacious mansions, they 
are not unfrequently carried, especially about their 
gardens, on the backs of their large-footed attend- 
ants. Women whose feet are not quite so small, 
though still tightly bound, manage to walk occa- 
sionally, with great difficulty, a distance of sev- 
eral miles. u Their movements are as the waving 
of the willows,” says a Chinese poet in reference 
to these tiny feet; but to our eyes the gait appears 
to be by no means elegant, and bears a strong re- 
semblance to what would be obtained by walking 
on our heels. 

This custom has no connection with religion, 
and is not prescribed by the law of the country. 
Indeed, no small-footed woman is allowed within 
the precincts of the imperial palace, and no Man- 
chu woman binds her feet. It is only the spread 
of Christianity, and the growing up of that Chris- 
tian public feeling which teaches compassion for 
the weak and sympathetic tenderness for the suf- 
fering, that can abolish foot-binding from Chinese 
homes. 

Slowly but surely this influence is already 
working, and in connection with several of our 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 103 

native churches anti-foot-binding societies have 
been formed. These are joined not only by the 
guardians of young girls, but by the parents of 
lads. For only when people become willing that 
their sons should marry large-footed wives can 
there be any widespread ceasing from bandaging 
in China. “I shall never bind the feet of my 
daughters, or allow them to marry any one but a 
Christian,” says many a Chinese Christian to- 
day. And they keep to this resolution, in very 
many cases in the midst of persecution and suffer- 
ing, and surrounded on all sides by trials and dif- 
ficulties we know little of. 

The origin of this custom of foot-binding seems 
very doubtful. It is sometimes referred back to 
an empress of an ancient dynasty, who bound her 
feet, some say to hide a deformity, and others to 
make them more beautifully small. Some ac- 
counts declare it was introduced with the idea of 
preventing women from going much from home. 
The Chinese think if young girls go out of doors 
they are sure to get into mischief; and in one book 
the example of an eminent lady of olden times is 
commended to their notice, who “for twelve years 
never looked out of the door of her house.” 

Girls of the wealthier classes are seldom seen 
abroad, but the daughters of the poor lead a much 
freer and happier life. When little more than 
babies, and just able to carry a basket and rake, 
they are sent out on the city wall, to a piece of 


104 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

waste land, or the slope of some neighboring hill, 
to collect fuel for the family. 

They gather the dry grass and sticks, and 
scrape together the fallen needles of the pine-trees 
and everything else that can possibly be used in 
keeping up the fire, which is lighted only for 
cooking purposes. The Chinese are not usually 
particularly unkind to little children, and they 
need only fear a beating if they fail to gather 
sufficient fuel to keep the pot boiling. In the 
bright spring-time, when the fresh wild herbs are 
springing up over the waste places and on the 
slopes of the city walls, the children may be seen 
filling their baskets, and making in this way a 
small addition to the family meal. 

While still very tiny children, girls are in- 
trusted with the care of the baby. The little one 
frequently sits on his small sister’s back ill a scarf 
which is tied over her shoulders. The baby’s 
feet dangle at her side, his arms are often round 
her neck, and his small head bobs up and down 
as she runs about or sways herself from side to 
side to quiet him. 

Tittle girls also find very pleasant employ- 
ment during the cotton harvest in picking the 
snowy balls. They take care of the silkworms, 
too, gathering mulberry leaves to feed them 
upon, till they spin the beautiful balls of delicate 
floss silk, that are woven into the costly plain and 
flowered fabrics for which China is so famous. 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 


10 5 

Nearly all the girls are taught to assist their 
mothers in spinning and weaving the cotton cloth 
required for the family garments. They also 
learn to cook the simple meals of rice and sweet 
potato, or various other vegetables and fish, meat 
being very rarely indeed within their reach. 

Many little girls while very young are able 
to add their mite to the family income by learn- 
ing under their mother’s direction one of the 
numberlesss small trades which employ the busy 
fingers of poor Chinese women. 

A large number of children are taught to make 
the soles which are used for Chinese shoes. They 
paste pieces of old rag on a board or shutter till a 
thickness of about half an inch is obtained. The 
substance is then dried in the sun, and after be- 
ing stripped from the board is ready for the shoe- 
maker’s use. Others for a short season are em- 
ployed in the manufacture of the. beautiful lan- 
terns, of all shapes and sizes, which are in such 
universal request during the festivities of the first 
month. In Central China also one is often re- 
minded of the lace-making districts of England by 
seeing girls seated at pillows and turning over 
bobbins which are almost identical with those 
which Cowper saw in his Buckinghamshire vil- 
lage, and wrote, 

“ Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door, 

Pillow and bobbins all her little store; 

Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay, 
Shuffling her threads about the livelong day.” 


106 home-life in china. 

When will the day come when we shall be 
able to add of these busy Chinese workers, 

“Just knows, and knows no more, her Bible true, 

And in that charter reads, with sparkling eyes, 

Her title to a treasure in the skies ”? 

Other girls are skilful in making small paper 
boxes used in the jewellers’ shops, and many are 
employed in the plaiting of silk to lengthen 
queues. 

The art of embroidering also supplies work to 
a large number of women and girls. At a very 
early age the children are taught to assist in their 
mother’s business, and many little girls are kept 
so closely to their frames that their eyes are per- 
manently injured. The shoe and the fancy shops 
give out a large quantity of work to these busy 
toilers, but the wages paid for it are very low. 

In many cases, for common embroidery not 
more than threepence a day is paid. For the 
finer work, whose delicate beauty excites the 
admiration of all foreign ladies, they never re- 
ceive more then eightpence or ninepence a day, 
working from early dawn till dusk. But the in- 
dustry which employs probably a far larger num- 
ber of girls than any other is that of making paper 
money to be used in the worship of the gods and 
of deceased relatives. Much that is used for this 
purpose consists merely of thin perforated Chinese 
paper. But the more elaborate paper money, in 
the making of which the small hands of children 


CHINESE GIRES AT HOME. 107 

are engaged, takes the form of ingots, similar 
in appearance to the shoes or lumps of silver used 
in all large trading transactions. In their man- 
ufacture strips of thick paper are twisted into 
forms bearing a resemblance to the real ingots, 
and scraps of gilt paper or tinfoil are then pasted 
on them. They are strung in rows of twenty or 
more, and represent a considerable amount of 
money in the supposed currency of the spirit- 
world. 

Not unfrequently girls of the poorer classes 
are sold as slaves to wealthy ladies. The sums 
paid for them vary, but frequently do not exceed 
five pounds. They are usually employed in the 
care of their mistresses’ children, and are often 
not unkindly treated. But sometimes the mis- 
tress is possessed of a violent temper and will 
half starve and mercilessly beat her little slave 
for the smallest misdemeanors; and then their lot 
is hard indeed. 

One little slave girl in Hankow had been so 
cruelly beaten by her mistress, who only two 
years before had given the sum of forty pounds 
for her, that in despair she took a dose of opium, 
hoping thus to find in death an escape from her 
misery. She was only thirteen years of age. 
Her owners, when they discovered what she had 
done, tried several native remedies believed to be 
antidotes: among others they used the warm blood 
of a fowl just killed. But seeing 110 sign of re- 


io8 HOME-UFE in china. 

covery, they sent at last for a foreign missionary, 
having heard that Europeans were often able to 
restore those who were in the early stages of the 
opium stupor. When the missionary reached the 
residence of the little slave’s owner, he found he 
had been summoned too late. He did all he 
could, but the unhappy little girl could not be 
restored. 

Another little slave, whose mistress lived in 
the district ravaged recently by a great famine, 
made her escape in that time of general distress, 
and was brought by a relative to a Christian mis- 
sion-school. She was received by the missiona- 
ries, who were kept in ignorance of her former 
history. As time passed by she made good pro- 
gress in her studies, and heard of One who gave 
His life that even little girls might be blessed. She 
was very happy in her new life, till a day came 
when, as not uufrequently occurred, some Chinese 
ladies asked permission to look over the school. 
It was observed that this little scholar seemed 
greatly terrified when she saw them, though she 
gave no reason for her very evident alarm. Some 
time after the mystery was explained, when one of 
the ladies made a formal claim for the child, say- 
ing she was her slave who had escaped from her. 
The little scholar clung to her Christian teachers 
with tears and entreaties, begging them to allow 
her to remain with them. But the case was so 
clear, and the lady’s claim so indisputable, that 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 109 

they could not refuse to restore her to her owner, 
though they did it with sorrowful hearts. 

Another girl I knew had been purchased by a 
family in rather poor circumstances, to bring up 
as the betrothed of their eldest son. The boy 
died, and so the poor little girl was kept in the 
family as the drudge of the household. She 
never was called by any other name but that of 
“ya-tou,” or “slave.” She was only about ten 
years of age, but was ordered to carry almost con- 
stantly upon her back a child more than four 
years of age belonging to her mistress. She was 
not strong, and the constant carrying of a burden 
far too heavy for her developed hip disease, and 
the poor child became a constant sufferer. Her 
owners were so annoyed at her uselessness that 
they would do little to relieve her pain, and re- 
fused to allow her to enter the Mission Hospital. 
Some time after, the ladies in charge of a mission 
boarding-school succeeded in prevailing upon 
them to give her up to their care. As she was 
quite unable to do any work for her owners, they 
at last consented to this arrangement. So the lit- 
tle invalid has found a kind Christian home, and 
when I last heard of her she was somewhat im- 
proving in health. 

Other girls are not sold, but pawned by their 
relatives in seasons of poverty, and can be re- 
claimed when the small sum of money advanced 
upon them is repaid. 


no 


HOME-EIFE IN CHINA. 


I have not yet touched upon the question of 
the education of Chinese girls, because, unless in 
very exceptional cases, they receive none. Some- 
times a wealthy man will allow his little daughter 
to share in her brother’s studies for a short time; 
and the children who are brought up in the nun- 
neries are, as I mentioned before, usually taught 
to read and write. 

Most of the heroines of Chinese stories are able 
not only to read and write, but also to compose 
rhymes ending with given words — an accomplish- 
ment in high repute among Chinese students. 
But these talented young ladies appear much 
more frequently in the pages of Chinese story- 
books than in real life; and this not by any means 
because Chinese girls are wanting in intelligence, 
but because it is considered unwise to allow them 
to become as clever as their future husbands. 
Moreover, it is feared that if girls learn to read 
they will be injured by the study of bad books ; 
since, according to a Chinese writer, “the femi- 
nine mind is unsteady in purpose and easily 
swerved from the right.” Yet in past ages there 
have been now and again “bright particular 
stars” among the ranks of Chinese women, espe- 
cially of the upper classes of society, who have 
tried to gain some insight into the literature of 
their country. 

One of the most celebrated of these ladies was 
Pan Chao, who lived in the first century after 


CHINESE GIRES AT HOME. 


Ill 


Christ. She considered that it was desirable that 
girls should be educated, and so also did the Em- 
press of Tai-Tsung, a ruler of the Tang dynasty. 
Another lady of high rank, who lived at about 
the same period, spent much time and thought in 
arranging passages from the classics for the in- 
struction of her niece, who was about to enter the 
imperial palace. 

The several volumes which have been com- 
piled for the use of Chinese girls are all very sim- 
ilar, and usually bear some such title as “Coun- 
sels,” “Instructions,” or “Admonitions for the 
Inner Apartments.” Girls are there exhorted to 
pay close attention to all household duties, and 
particular directions are given as to the dress and 
manners becoming to young maidens. They are 
taught to be respectful to their elders, and very 
minute directions are given to guide them in their 
behavior to their mother-in-law and their future 
husband. They are told to cultivate the “Four 
Virtues and Three Obediences.” The former re- 
late to correct manners, and include modesty and 
docility, careful speech, a submissive demeanor, 
and proper employment, literally “silk and 
thread, ’ ’ which refer to weaving and embroidering. 

The “Three Obediences,” or degrees of de- 
pendence, are that of a daughter upon her father, 
a wife upon her husband, and a mother upon her 
son. Some of the duties which are enlarged upon 
in these Chinese girls’ primers would meet with 


112 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


approval even in the West. A girl is charged to 
be truthful, unselfish, and loving; to “be tran- 
quil and reverent in the thoughts of the heart, 
and then the inner life will clearly manifest itself 
in the outward actions.” She is counselled never 
to search out other people’s affairs, like a busy- 
body, and to treat her handmaids and slaves with 
forbearance and kindness. “Do not ferret out 
the smallest errors in accounts, and then beat the 
servants if they fall a cash or two short in the 
reckoning : you may think such conduct a proof 
of wisdom, but it rather exhibits your parsimo- 
ny,” is the counsel and verdict of one writer. 

One of these books contains an account of an 
educated Chinese mother who trained her two 
sons most carefully, and read to them stories of 
the noble patriots and statesmen of their own coun- 
try. In after life it is said these sons were known 
as wise, clean-handed officials, daring to refuse 
bribes and giving righteous judgment; “which 
was certainly the result of their mother’s teach- 
ing.” I remember also when in 1882 the mother 
of the Viceroy hi Hung Chang, the greatest man 
in China to-day, died at Wuchang, a sort of me- 
moir was issued by her sons, which contained a 
most interesting account of her early years, and 
attributed the honors and high rank to which her 
children had attained to her wise training and 
unceasing care. 

These Chinese books to which I have referred 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME. 113 

frequently lay down rules relating to the toilet, 
and what girls should think of while making it. 
“While powdering the face they should remem- 
ber that the heart must be kept white and clean ; 
in arranging the head-dress, consider that the 
heart needs to be carefully regulated ; in oiling 
the hair, resolve to make the heart pliable and 
docile.” Most of the girls of the upper classes 
are instructed in the art of cookery. They are 
commanded to imitate the example of a certain 
empress who always superintended the prepara- 
tion of the dishes which appeared on the emper- 
or’s table. Another lady of rank, in days of old, 
always made it her practice to go into her kitchen 
at dawn of day and prepare gruel for her servants, 
ordering them to eat it before commencing their 
work. 

Girls are also taught to show hospitality to 
strangers ; and, since example is more forcible 
than precept, the story of a hospitable lady of 
olden time is related to them. This eminent 
dame, when her family were in very poor cir- 
cumstances, sold her hair to purchase a meal for 
her guest, and emptied her pillow of straw to 
satisfy the hunger of his horse. 

But these books find their way into the hands 
of very few Chinese girls, since, as I mentioned 
before, very few learn to read, and girls’ schools, 
with the exception of those established by mis- 
sionaries, are almost unknown. 


1 14 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

After the age of eight or ten, the daughters of 
the wealthier classes are kept within the walls of 
their own homes. It is thought improper for them 
to be seen out of doors. 

They have few amusements, and though they 
have not to endure the hard, grinding poverty of 
the poorer classes, their life is much more cramped, 
and they have little variety in it 

Most of the larger houses have fine gardens 
attached to them, containing winding walks which 
pass under arches of curious rock-work and over 
streams or ponds spanned by the well-known wil- 
low-pattern bridge. But the indoor-life is very 
monotonous. 

Some girls are taught to play on musical in- 
struments, and to sing songs or selections from the 
classics in a high, unnatural key, by no means 
attractive to the ears of Europeans. 

They spend much time in working embroi- 
dery. The paper patterns for these wonderful 
flowers, birds, and figures which are used in the 
ornamentation of Chinese clothing can be pur- 
chased at embroiderers’ shops. But some ladies 
have quite a talent for inventing new patterns, 
and I have seen them working most beautiful 
original designs upon costly silks and satins, which 
it would be very difficult to find equalled in the 
shops where such articles are sold. 

Chinese girls are betrothed at a very early age, 
sometimes as mere babies. Frequently a gentle- 


CHINESE GIRES AT HOME. 115 

man having a friend in a similar position in life 
with a little son, will promise, when the years of 
childhood are past, to give his daughter in mar- 
riage to the boy. A u mei-rin,” or match-maker, 
will be employed, the children’s horoscopes cast, 
and for several days the matter is under considera- 
tion of both families. If during this time of wait- 
ing any accident happens in either family, such as 
a breakage among the chinaware or the loss of 
some trifling article, it is looked upon as an omen 
of evil, and the match is not concluded. But if 
all goes on quietly, the parents decide that the 
betrothal is a suitable one. A number of presents 
are then exchanged. Among them are two cards. 
One of these is ornamented with a gilt dragon, 
and has written upon it a number of particulars 
relating to the boy. The other is decorated with 
the picture of a phoenix, and gives similar infor- 
mation about the little girl. A thread of red silk 
with needles at either end is passed through each 
of these cards, which being exchanged, are pre- 
served in the families of the children as signs of 
betrothal. I11 reference to this red silk, it is said 
that the feet of people destined to be married are 
tied together with invisible threads. 

These engagements made by parents for their 
children are as binding as marriage, although the 
principal parties know nothing of the arrange- 
ments. Very sad surprises constantly occur at 
Chinese weddings, for frequently no communica- 

Home-Llfb >n China. n 


n6 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


tion takes place between the two families from 
the time of betrothal. Sometimes the family cir- 
cumstances have greatly altered, and the father 
who has promised his child to the son of some 
wealthy man finds he has to give her up to a fam- 
ily in great poverty. Occasionally it is found that 
since the betrothal the bridegroom has become a 
helpless cripple. In another case of which I 
heard, the bride had been attacked by the terri- 
ble disease of leprosy; and in another the bride- 
groom had fallen a victim to that incurable mal- 
ady. 

When the marriage-day arrives, the girl-bride 
is brought to her new home in the grand bridal- 
chair of brilliant scarlet, elaborately decorated. 
None of her friends accompany her, with the ex- 
ception of two old women, who act the part which 
is in England allotted to the girlish companions 
of the bride. One of these old women is the &o- 

o 

between, or match-maker, and the other takes the 
part of mistress of the ceremonies. The bride’s 
relatives are supposed to remain in their own 
home and bewail her loss. When the door of the 
bridal-chair is opened no flowing robes of white 
are revealed, for white is the color of mourning, 
and must on no account be worn at a wedding. 
The little bride is usually attired in garments of 
various colors, but a large robe of scarlet is worn 
over all the rest. Her hair is adorned with a 
massive head-dress of gilt ornaments, and her 


CHINESE GIRES AT HOME. 1 17 

head is covered with a veil of scarlet silk or cloth, 
which quite conceals her features. 

At the wedding breakfast, at which the bride 
and bridegroom alone sit down, and of which the 
bride is never expected to partake, she sits mo- 
tionless, her face still covered with the veil. They 
each drink out of two cups of wine, which are 
tied together with a silken thread. During this 
meal the mistress of ceremonies chants a song, 
supposed to be composed for the occasion, in which 
she predicts that every nuptial blessing shall be 
the portion of the young pair before her. 

When the bridegroom has finished his repast 
he leads his young wife into the decorated bridal 
chamber, where a large number of red boxes, con- 
taining the young lady’s wardrobe, are piled up. 
The young husband then removes the veil, and 
for the first time looks upon the face of the girl 
who has become his wife. Soon after the bride 
and bridegroom together worship the spirit-tablets 
of departed ancestors and do reverence to the elder 
members of the family. A grand marriage feast 
is the climax of the day’s festivities, and after- 
wards a large number of friends, both men and 
women, are admitted to look upon the face of the 
bride and to make the most personal remarks upon 
her appearance. This is an ordeal through which 
every Chinese bride passes, and through a great 
part of the day I have frequently seen them stand- 
ing, poor trembling girls, little more than chil- 


Il8 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

dren, with, downcast, immovable faces — for a Chi- 
nese bride is taught that she must appear alike 
unconscious of blame or praise, of rude criticism 
or friendly words of sympathy. 

The bride is not supposed to visit her parents 
till four months after the wedding. Not unfre- 
quently this visit is a very sad one, when the 
young wife has to tell the story of some cruel and 
heartless mother-in-law, who makes life a torture 
to all who are in her power. Sad to say, these 
visits to the old home are often taken advantage 
of by miserable young wives to attempt to put an 
end to their lives ; for life is so lightly valued by 
them that the taking of it seems only a very little 
thing. 

But there are also comparatively happy mar- 
riages, considering the strange way in which they 
are brought about. Yet the life of all women in 
China is drearier or sadder than that of the men; 
and that must always be the case in lands where 
the compassionate teachings of the Christian reli- 
gion are not known. For there might is right, 
and the weak ones have to suffer under the rule of 
the strong. 

Should a girl in China lose her betrothed, or a 
young wife her husband, she is highly commend- 
ed if she takes opium or in some other w T ay con- 
trives to follow him into the unseen world. Out- 
side the walls of many Chinese cities, as well as in 
some public streets, I have frequently seen monu- 


CHINESE GIRES AT HOME. II9 

mental arches erected to perpetuate the memory 
of filial sons and daughters, or of young women 
who have killed themselves sooner than outlive 
their betrothed or their husbands. Cases of this 
kind are reported to the emperor, if the young 
lady is of a high social position, and these arches 
are erected at his command. A young lady con- 
nected with the family of a previous Chinese am- 
bassador to England received this honor after 
death, and the case was reported in the pages of 
the ‘ ‘ Peking Gazette, ’ ’ or official newspaper of 
China. 

Many stories are related of the virtues pos- 
sessed by heroines of past ages. Some of these 
are particularly warlike in spirit, but the leading 
idea in each is usually the cultivation of filial pi- 
ety and the devotion at all costs to a father’s in- 
terests. I will give a condensed report of one of 
these stories, since they convey some idea of the 
virtues which are considered worthy of imitation 
by the daughters of the Flowery Land. 

More than fourteen centuries ago there lived 
in the province of Hunan a celebrated general 
whose name was Wha. He had an only daughter 
who was called Moh-lan. This young lady had 
been duly instructed in all womanly arts, such as 
spinning, weaving, and embroidering; and in ad- 
dition she had been taught to use the bow and ar- 
row, and, moreover, was an accomplished horse- 
woman. Gen. Wha was a brave commander, 


120 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


and his name was a terror to the border tribes 
which ravaged the empire. He was now, how- 
ever, advanced in years, and had humbly peti- 
tioned the emperor for permission to retire from 
his laborious post. But the imperial army could 
ill afford to lose so noted a general, and the “Son 
of Heaven” insisted that the aged and feeble sol- 
dier should, under pain of his heaviest displeasure, 
take up his position at the head of the troops. 
The imperial couriers delivered their message to 
the sick commander, and Moh-lan, sitting at her 
loom behind the curtains of the apartments of the 
women, heard the order also, and knew that it 
must be obeyed. She had no brother to take his 
father’s place and lead the troops to victory. She 
was only a girl, but she rose to the occasion and 
determined to do all that a son might have done. 
The decision was no sooner made than carried 
out. Hastily she encased her small feet in her 
father’s military boots, then seizing his weapons, 
with his plumed hat upon her head, she sprang 
upon his noble war-horse and galloped away to 
put herself at the head of the army. Seeing the 
familiar arms and trappings of their beloved com- 
mander, the troops supposed the maiden to be 
some young officer who had been appointed at his 
request to lead them, and gladly followed to vic- 
tory. For more than ten years after this Moh- 
lan’ s course was one of uninterrupted success. 
At last every enemy was subdued and the land 


CHINESE GIRLS AT HOME 


121 


was at peace. Only then did Moh-lan return to 
her old home, to find that her venerated father 
had passed away, and her other relatives were 
doubtful of her identity. At length they were 
convinced, and received her with open arms. 
The emperor, when he heard it rumored that his 
all-conquering commander was but a woman, 
sent for her to court and gave her hand in mar- 
riage to one of the high officers of state. When 
she died a splendid monument was erected by im- 
perial command to commemorate her filial piety 
and patriotism. 


122 


HOME-UFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER VII. 

TWO BOY-EMPERORS OF CHINA. 

It was in the year 1858 that the second war 
between Great Britain and China was commenced. 
Before its close in i860 the allied armies had laid 
in smoking ruins the walls of the beautiful Sum- 
mer Palace near Peking, the grand home of the 
Chinese emperors. 

Great was the commotion at the capital when 
the tidings arrived that the foreign soldiers were 
really on their way to the imperial city. 

The news was brought to Peking by swift 
couriers, and carried on from thence to the em- 
peror’s residence. 

Guards, who had been placed along the road 
at short intervals within hearing of each other, 
passed the alarming news from lip to lip till it 
reached the palace in a wonderfully short space of 
time. 

It was immediately decided that the court 
should at once take its departure for a country 
residence of the emperor, distant about eight days’ 
journey, and called by the name of Yeh-ho, or 
Warm Streams. 

There was no time for preparation, the whole 
city was in confusion, and it was a motley throng 


TWO BOY-EMPERORS OF CHINA. 1 23 

of strangely-attired attendants which followed in 
the emperor’s train as he commenced his flight. 
It was a weary journey they had to make, fording 
streams and travelling over rough and uneven 
ground. 

Even the emperor had to endure many hard- 
ships, for, in the alarm and confusion of starting, 
no preparations had been made for the journey. 

Every one rejoiced when the grand gates of 
the palace of Yeh-ho came in sight. Situated in 
the midst of fine pleasure-grounds adorned with 
firs and cypress and many other trees, under 
whose shade herds of deer and elk roamed unmo- 
lested, it was a beautiful place of refuge; and yet 
the Emperor Hien-Feng had only been induced 
by urgent necessity to take up his abode there. 
People said it was an unlucky residence for any 
of his race, for his grandfather, the Emperor Chia- 
Ching, had died there. 

After some time of suspense news came to 
Yeh-ho that the court might safely return to Pe- 
king. But the reports of the doings of the “for- 
eign barbarians ” filled their hearts with fear, and 
the emperor decided to remain over the winter in 
his quiet retreat. He never saw the ruins of his 
fair Summer Palace, for he died at Yeh-ho before 
the spring. 

When he “ ascended the Dragon Throne 
above, ’ ’ or was ‘ 1 received as a guest on high ’ ’ 
(which is the way in which the Chinese speak of 


124 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


the death of their ruler), he left behind him a lit- 
tle son, who was at the time only six years of age. 
This little boy had been placed under the guard- 
ianship of two empresses, who were both the wives 
of his father. One was called the Empress of the 
East and she was the greater lady: the other 
was the child’s own mother, and she was called 
the Western Empress. Chinese emperors are not 
known by their own name; it would be thought 
disrespectful to have that in common use; so a 
title or reign name is selected for them when 
they come to the throne. This little boy was 
proclaimed emperor under a name which means 
“Fortunate Union.” 

It was soon discovered that many of the great 
men of the empire were plotting to get rid of the 
guardians of the little boy and take the manage- 
ment of affairs into their own hands. 

This conspiracy was discovered by the em- 
presses, who, with the young emperor under their 
care, left Yeh-ho and came to Peking. A clever 
man, named Prince Rung, who was also one of 
those who had charge of the little emperor, had 
a number of these plotters put to death. On ac- 
count of this affair the reign name was changed, 
and it was afterwards known as Tung-chi, which 
means “United Rule.” 

The two imperial ladies who had charge of the 
little boy are said to be very wise and clever wo- 
men. This is, no doubt, true, or they would not 



PRINCE KUNG. 







TWO BOY-EMPERORS OF CHINA. 127 

have kept for so long the reins of government 
in their hands. 

Some time ago, it is said, a high mandarin 
tried to make mischief between the two ladies. 
He used to fabricate complaints, which he said 
each had made against the other. The two em- 
presses compared notes, and so discovered the de- 
signs of the courtier, and they immediately or- 
dered him to swallow gold-leaf, which was only 
a way of commanding him to pay the penalty of 
his life for his foolish conduct. 

In the year 1872 Tung-chi, who was then a 
boy of sixteen, was married. Before the new 
empress had been publicly announced, a large 
number of girls from all the principal families in 
the empire were ordered to be sent up to the pal- 
ace, that the empresses might make a selection 
from among them. 

Rumor said that some time before the impe- 
rial ladies had decided upon the girl who was to 
be raised to this honor. Her name was Aluteh 
and she was the daughter of a .member of the Im- 
perial College known as Duke Chung. 

The gossips of Peking said that the friends of 
Aluteh would gladly have guarded her against 
the perilous honor which they feared might await 
her, for she was a girl of singular beauty and in- 
telligence. It was said that so determined were 
they to do all in their power to prevent the choice 
falling upon her that they placed rolls of wadding 


128 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


about lier shoulders, beneath her dress, to give her 
the appearance of being deformed. 

But the empresses were too clever for the anx- 
ious parents, for, having fixed upon her as the 
bride, they issued a notification to the effect that 
although the youthful empress had been deformed, 
the court physician had been able, with much 
skill, to remove the protuberances from her back, 
and she was now so straight and graceful that it 
was evidently the will of heaven that she should 
be promoted to the high position of empress. 

The young lady who was thus exalted had 
little of happiness in her short life, though much 
grandeur attended the wedding ceremonies. On 
the day before the marriage three princes were 
appointed by the young emperor to go and burn 
incense, offering sacrifices at the temple, and in- 
forming heaven of the important event about to 
take place. Two other princes were also deputed 
to go on similar errands. One had to convey the 
news to Mother Earth, and the other to pay a visit 
to the temple of the emperor’s ancestors, carrying 
the news to them. Less than two years after the 
wedding it was announced that the young em- 
peror had “met with the joy of having the small- 
pox,” for that disease, though very prevalent in 
China, is looked upon as a mark of heaven’s 
special favor. 

A few days after, the news of the emperor’s 
sickness was succeeded by tidings of his death, and 


TWO BOY-EMPERORS OF CHINA. 1 29 

his young wife was shortly after reported to have 
died of grief. Some said, however, that the Dow- 
ager Empresses had commanded her to put an end 
to her life at once, and that she had starved her- 
self in obedience to their order. 

It was necessary immediately to select a new 
emperor, and, according to Chinese ideas, he could 
not be of an older generation than the young 
Tung-chi, though several of his uncles were still 
living. For the peace of the empire the dead 
ruler’s spirit must be regularly worshipped and 
have sacrifices offered to it, and this could only 
be done by the same generation as himself. 

The council of the imperial family met at 
night within one of the palace chambers, and 
they decided that a little boy, about three and a 
half years of age, should be chosen emperor. 
The child was the son of Prince Chung, the sev- 
enth son of the Emperor Tau-Kwang, and the 
brother of Hien-Feng. 

The little emperor was sent for immediately, 
and placed in the midst of his uncles, who all did 
homage to him. The first consequence of the act 
by which the baby boy Tsai-tien was changed into 
the Emperor Kwang-Su, or “Illustrious Suc- 
cessor,” was the retirement of his father from 
public life, since, according to Chinese ideas, it 
was quite impossible for a father to do homage to 
his own son. But even this matter had to be ar- 
ranged in a very roundabout way. 


130 home-life in china. 

The emperor’s father sent np a memorial to 
the two Dowager Empresses — for those ladies now 
undertook the care of Kwang-Su, as they had pre- 
viously done of his predecessor. 

Prince Chung described the agony of grief 
into which he was thrown when called upon to 
gaze upon the features of the departed emperor. 
But he was even more overwhelmed by the news 
that his own son had been chosen to succeed to 
the throne. He was carried home as one bereft 
of reason, he was attacked by many diseases, and 
begged to be allowed to spend the remnant of his 
miserable life in the seclusion of his own home, 
entreating the empresses to withdraw his double 
allowance as an imperial prince. 

This memorial seemed quite correct and prop- 
er to the educated Chinese, and appeared in the 
pages of the court newspaper. 

References to the little emperor’s education 
and training may often be found in the pages of the 
“Peking Gazette,” and are also frequently floating 
about like the common rumors of other courts. 
Kwang-Su is described as a delicate little lad, thin 
and pale, since it is said he is often called up in 
the middle of the night when state business is in 
progress, so as to be trained to official etiquette 
and the management of affairs of state. 

Poor little fellow ! doubtless he sometimes 
wishes he were not an emperor at all, but could 
sleep at night like other boys. 


'TWO BOY-EMPERORS OF CHINA. 131 

111 one matter some boys may think he is 
rather fortunate. Some time ago, in the pages of 
the ‘ ‘Peking Gazette, ’ ’ the appointment of a ‘ ‘whip- 
ping boy > ’ was announced — that is, a little fellow 
whose duty it was to receive all the punishments 
which might be deserved by the little emperor 
when he committed a fault. He stood, indeed, 
in the same relation to Kwang-Su as we are in- 
formed by the author of “Waverley” Sir Mungo 
Malagrowther did to the son of Mary Queen of 
Scots. I11 the same paper there may sometimes 
be found mention of some curious presents which 
have been received by the child-ruler. Not long 
since there was the following announcement : 
“The horse which was presented to Us by Poy- 
ennamoku was quiet and steady when We rode it. 
Let it, therefore, be called ‘The Pearl that flies 
like a bird.’” From a place far off in Mongolia 
they send the little emperor every year two cases 
of jam, of which I suppose he is very fond, since a 
few years ago the people sent many apologies be- 
cause the season had been so cold that the fruit 
would not ripen, and no jam could be had. 

Poor little Chinese emperor, shut up in his 
grand palace, taught always to act with great 
gravity, according to the rules of court etiquette — 
most of our boys and girls, however humble their 
homes and surroundings, are doubtless much hap- 
pier than he! 


132 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 

RAT-TAT-TAT ! Bang — bang ! On all sides there 
were such strange noises that one might have im- 
agined a volley of artillery was being exploded. 
These were the sounds that awoke me at the hour 
of midnight when I had been only two days a 
dweller in the Celestial Empire. What could be 
the matter? Were the inhabitants of the far- 
famed mart of Hankow turning out en masse to 
hold the fort against some attacking enemy ? 

It was nothing very serious after all, for I soon 
found that the cannonading which was deafening 
my ears was nothing more than the continuous 
letting off of fireworks to frighten away the spirits 
of evil which it was feared might be prowling 
around on New Year’s morning. 

It was the dawn of the greatest festival of 
the Chinese year, and the people had for days 
past been making the most extensive preparations 
to celebrate it. It had been a time of general 
housecleaning everywhere. New charms and 
scrolls had been bought to decorate and protect 
each home. New clothes had been purchased or 
taken out of pawn, and nearly everybody looked 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 1 33 

smiling and good-tempered, since the great holi- 
day of the year was at hand. 

There is no weekly day of rest in China; the 
shops are open and the streets full of eager buyers 
and sellers every day alike. When the missiona- 
ries go through the streets to the Christian chapels 
on the Sabbath day, they are often saddened as 
they pass through the midst of these busy crowds. 
The multitudes of those who are bowing down to 
gods of wood and stone are so great they seem for 
a time to blot out the encouraging thought of the 
‘ ‘ little flock ’ ’ which is being gathered out of the 
midst of these Chinese cities — men and women, 
and even little children, who have heard the glad 
tidings of Jesus’ love and are trying to follow in 
His footsteps. 

A month in China commences with a new 
moon, and so New Year’s Day is not on the first 
of January, as with us, but very frequently quite 
at the end of our first month, or even as late as 
the second or third week of February. 

Very few Chinamen ever think of retiring to 
rest on New Year’s eve. They have an idea that 
watching for the dawn of New Year’s morning 
several years in succession will insure to them 
long life. Kven the children of Chinese families 
usually sit up, as we say, to see the New Year in, 
but they call it u to round the year. ’ ’ In some 
parts a few faggots of pine wood are lighted in a 

space before the stand upon which the ancestral 

8 


134 HOME-UFB IN CHINA. 

tablets are placed. The boys and girls greatly 
enjoy the fun of exploding crackers and throwing 
handfuls of salt upon the flames. The crackling 
sound made by the burning salt is thought to be 
an omen of £Ood. 

Santa Claus in not known to Chinese juven- 
iles, but late on New Year’s eve it is common for 
the head of a family to present the children and 
servants of the household with some copper cash 
strung on a scarlet cord, since it is considered un- 
lucky to begin the year with an empty purse. 

The last night of the old year is always a busy 
time with trades-people in China, for every one is 
expected to pay the debts contracted during the 
year. If it is not possible to discharge them in 
full, they must at any rate pay off a considerable 
portion of them before the new year dawns. When 
once the great day arrives, nothing but peace and 
good-will is supposed to reign, and if a man is still 
in debt, his creditor is not expected to press his 
claim again till some months at least have passed. 

As all shops will be closed for several days, it 
is necessary that every family should lay in a 
good stock of provisions. It used to be the cus- 
tom for most shops to be closed for a fortnight; 
and the lovers of old customs often bemoan the 
fact that year after year shops are being opened 
earlier, and the necessaries of life can be readily 
bought when the year is four or five days old. 
The longer a tradesman keeps his shop closed the 



STREET BEGGAR 





CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 1 37 

more respectable be is considered by bis neigh- 
bors. 

The first ceremony which a Chinaman per- 
forms when the hour of midnight has passed and 
the new year has been entered, is to worship be- 
fore the spirit-tablets of his ancestors and at the 
shrine of the household gods. After this the whole 
family go out of the front-door of the house, while 
the women and servants of the household lift up 
lamps or torches to give them light. They then 
bow down and do reverence towards a part of the 
heavens which has been indicated in the almanac. 
This is commonly spoken of as the worship of 
heaven and earth, though it is described in the 
almanac as the ceremony of receiving the spirit 
of gladness or good fortune, which it has been 
ascertained will come out of that quarter of the 
heavens. 

This is considered by a Chinaman the most 
important moment of the year. He has a terrible 
dread lest his u first foot,” as they say in Scotland, 
should be a person who will bring him ill-fortune — 
a shaven priest, for instance. The first words he 
hears too have a fearful significance to him, should 
they unfortunately refer to fire, shipwreck, loss of 
office, failure in business, an evil spirit, a ser- 
pent, sickness, separation, or death. And not only 
the words themselves significant of these things 
are unlucky, but other words with quite a dif- 
ferent meaning but a similar sound to the unfor- 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


133 

tunate phrases. O11 the other hand, if some words 
relating to prosperity and gladness are the first 
that greet his ear, the Chinaman’s heart is filled 
with joy, and he thinks he may reasonably antici- 
pate a happy New Year. Going out into the 
streets in the early morning of this great holiday, 
we should find them strewn with the crimson paper 
of exploded crackers. These fireworks are believ- 
ed to be very effectual in driving away evil spirits. 
It is said that the original idea in their manufac- 
ture was to imitate the crackling sound of burning 
bamboos, wdiich were once used for the same pur- 
pose. Beggars always throng the streets at this 
time, and reap a large harvest, since no one cares 
to refuse to give them a trifle, lest they should 
have to begin the year with a curse, even if it be 
only from a beggar’s lips. Many rich men give 
very liberally at this great festival ; tickets for rice 
are widely distributed, and sums of money, fre- 
quently given anonymously, are sent to the fami- 
lies of the very poor. 

The front-doors of most of the houses are usu- 
ally decorated with new “men shin,” or door 
spirits, on New Year’s morning. These are gaudi- 
ly-colored pictures of two generals of past ages. 
It is said that the emperor who was at that time 
reigning in China had a dream in which he was 
informed that evil spirits were attempting to in- 
vade his palace. To prevent their entrance, he 
commanded two of his bravest warriors to keep 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 1 39 

guard at the palace gates. The spirits, frightened 
by their warlike appearance, were afraid to enter, 
and since the death of these famous generals it is 
said their pictures have been found to be equally 
efficacious. These pictures remain upon the doors 
all through the year, though the beating of the 
wind and rain upon them often leaves little but 
dilapidated fragments when the last month comes. 

Above the doors a bunch of cypress, together 
with some sheets of mock money and gold and 
silver paper ingots, is hung, and doorways are 
often decorated with fringes of scarlet paper fanci- 
fully cut out, having fastened upon it the charac- 
ter which stands for happiness. Strips of scarlet 
paper as scrolls are also used to decorate the in- 
terior of the houses, the motto written upon them 
having always some fortunate meaning. 

On New Year’s morning when a Chinaman 
meets a friend he clasps his own hands and, mov- 
ing them up and down before him, incased in his 
long sleeves, bows low and repeats the words, 

‘ ‘ Kung-she, kung-she, ” or, u I congratulate you, ’ ’ 
which is equivalent to our phrase, ‘ ‘ I wish you a 
happy New Year.” 

Many people do not make ceremonious calls 
on New Year’s day, but defer them till a day or 
two later. Not a few, wearied out with the vigil 
and ceremonies of the night, spend the day in rest 
and quiet. Only here and there you hear the 
sounds that seem to be so musical to Chinese ears, 


140 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


the banging of gongs or cymbals, or the squeak- 
ing of a Chinese flute. Every one who is abroad 
is dressed in his best clothing; the children are 
perfectly gorgeous in their coats of many colors, 
while the shoes, caps, and collars of the babies are 
all decorated with many-colored embroidery. As 
the weather is cold, all the garments are wadded, 
and the children look like so many round balls, 
or, when a little older, something like bolsters. 
We begin to wonder sometimes where all the 
grand apparel has been kept all the year; and at 
this season foreigners are not unfrequently puzzled 
by the arrival, among other visitors, of a gentle- 
man who, to a new-comer, would doubtless appear 
to be moving in a high position in society. There 
is probably something familiar about the features 
of the visitor who thus calls to offer his congratu- 
lations. The mystery is explained when the for- 
eigner is informed that the gorgeously-attired 
gentleman is Mr. So-and-so’s cook, or some work- 
man whom he has employed during the year. 

Feasting, visiting, gambling, and seeing the- 
atrical performances are some of the amusements 
of the season. Nearly every evening fireworks 
are let off in great quantities. On the fourth day 
of the month preparations are made for receiving 
back again the god of the kitchen, who, it is sup- 
posed, has been absent, spending his New Year’s 
holidays in the invisible regions, since the twenty- 
fourth of the twelfth month. He is believed to 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 141 

have carried thither a report of the conduct of the 
family during the past year. A paper horse and 
various other things necessary for his journey are 
usually burned by the household on the evening 
of his supposed departure. Throughout the 
whole of the New Year’s festivities idolatrous 
worship, either of spirits or of gods, is so inter- 
mixed with social customs as to make that season 
a very trying one to Chinese Christians. They 
are always unmercifully persecuted by their heath- 
en friends when they refuse to take part in idola- 
trous ceremonies. One boy I knew was so con- 
vinced that it was wrong to worship the false 
gods or to bow before the ancestral tablets that he 
begged his father to excuse him from it. When 
the man knew his son had been hearing of the 
true God in the Glad Tidings Hall of the neigh- 
boring city his anger knew no bounds. He 
stripped the boy of all his outer clothing, and, 
after giving him a severe beating, sent him out 
into the streets. 

Not unfrequently at this season some of the 
gods are taken out for a ride in sedan-chairs. It 
is believed that the families residing in the streets 
along which they pass will be free from sickness 
and pestilence during the year. 

The fifteenth of the first moon brings with it 
the great u Feast of Lanterns,” when the city is 
illuminated with lanterns suspended on long poles 
from the roofs of the houses. The scene seems 


142 


home-life in china. 


changed into a city of fairy-land, for even the 
poorest families put out a lantern above the roof 
of their cottage. They do not burn long, and one 
after another the lights die out; but the revelry in 
the houses and the frequent explosion of fireworks 
continue until far on into the night. On the 
evening of the “Feast of Lanterns” more wo- 
men are seen upon the streets than at other times, 
custom allowing them to come out and witness 
the grand illumination. 

I have spoken first of the New Year’s festi- 
vals, since they are by far the most important. 
There is another, however, which often precedes 
it, according to our reckoning of time, while in 
the Chinese calendar it is often oddly arranged 
that the festival of “Welcoming the Spring” oc- 
curs in the last month of the year. The great 
feature in the procession, which is formed in hon- 
or of the day, is a life-size figure of a water buffa- 
lo, the common domestic animal of China. The 
framework is composed of bamboo splints, cov- 
ered with paper of various colors. The sheets 
are said to be pasted on either by a blind man or 
under the direction of a fortune-teller, and are be- 
lieved to predict the weather of the year, and also 
to give curious information on various other sub- 
jects. If there is much white paper, rains and 
floods are expected to prevail over the land ; if 
red predominates, there will be many fires and 
the summer will prove unusually hot. Yellow 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 1 43 

indicates plentiful harvests, and a favorable year 
is thus predicted. 

The ceremony of “receiving the spring” 
takes place outside the east gate of the city, 
since it is from the east that spring is supposed 
to come. An altar is usually erected before the 
figure of the buffalo and the god of the land and 
grain; then the prefect of the city and other 
mandarins, attired in their richest robes, do rev- 
erence before them. The same evening the pa- 
per buffalo is broken up into fragments, and the 
man who succeeds in obtaining a portion of it 
fancies that in consequence his own buffalo will 
prosper during the year. 

The next great festival occurs in the bright 
spring-tide of the year, when the country is fra- 
grant with the sweet scent of the bean-flower and 
the willows and graceful bamboos are looking love- 
ly in their fresh foliage. Schoolboys at this time 
receive a few days’ vacation in order that they 
may take part in this festival, which, like all 
Chinese holidays, has a religious signification. 
It is known as Tsing-Ming, and is the festival of 
the tombs. At this time every Chinaman visits 
the graves of his ancestors, burning incense and 
paper money and offering sacrifices there. So 
universal is this custom that if these ceremonies 
are neglected for three years in succession, or, at 
any rate, if for that period the sheets of paper 
money, kept in place by stones or a heap of earth, 


• i 4 4 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


are not seen upon the graves, the land is liable to 
be taken possession of by its original owners and 
the plot sold to another family. Chinese bury- 
ing-grounds are always outside the walls of their 
cities. It is an impressive sight to see the innu- 
merable mounds of earth, many of them un- 
marked by tree or stone, others with a small slab 
at the head bearing the name and date of death 
of the departed. The tombs of the wealthier fam- 
ilies are usually on some hillside, on a spot spe- 
cially chosen by geomancers; but I am speaking 
of the graves of the common people. They 
stretch away over the grassy plains farther than 
the eye can reach, till it sometimes seems as if 
the cities of the dead in China were even more 
densely crowded than the cities of the living. 

A day is always fixed in the u Imperial Calen- 
dar” for the commencement of this festival, which 
is sometimes spoken of as the “ Sweeping of the 
Graves;” but the actual visit to the tombs can be 
made either a few days before or after, to suit the 
convenience of the families. Before the cere- 
monies commence some members of the family 
put in order the little plot of ground, pulling up 
the weeds and tall rank grass which have grown 
wild above it. Whole families come out and 
take part in the service, women and children as 
well as men. They carry with them little basins 
containing various kinds of food, such as fish and 
fowl, pork, and cakes of different kinds. These, 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 145 

with cups of wine, are ranged in order before the 
grave, and, candles and incense having been 
lighted, one by one the men and boys of the fam- 
ily, according to age, stand up, reverently bow- 
ing and knocking their heads to the ground. 
After this a large quantity of paper money is 
burned to supply the spirits with pocket-money 
for their various needs, and then a number of 
crackers are exploded. Offerings are then made 
to the god who is supposed to be in charge of that 
part of the country, and food is also arranged at a 
little distance from the graves and offered to the 
beggar spirits, which are supposed to be as nu- 
merous in the spirit- world as in the streets of 
Chinese cities. Whenever departed spirits re- 
ceive a large offering from their descendants it is 
considered certain that the beggar spirits will be- 
have as they would do in this world, and so by 
their demands for charity disturb the relatives of 
the worshippers and prevent them from enjoying 
their feast in peace. Therefore the beggars re- 
ceive an offering as well as the friends, and in 
this way it is believed all are satisfied. 

Standing by one of these graves one day at 
this festival on a bright spring evening, I saw a • 
family going through these ceremonies and a 
very little boy was with them. He watched his 
elders carefully, and then was put up to clasp his 
small hands and do reverence also. When the 
worship was over we began to talk to the little 


146 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


company. “Why do you let a child so small 
take part in this service?” we asked, looking at 
the little fellow, who seemed greatly to enjoy the 
burning of the paper and exploding of the crack- 
ers. The father, a grave, courteous Chinaman, 
replied, “We bring them thus early to teach 
them their duty, so that when they grow older 
they may never neglect to worship at the tombs, 
and will attend to our wants when we have passed 
into the spirit- world.” 

Upon returning home the people carry with 
them small branches of trees, slips of firs, or 
boughs of wild azaleas. These sprays of greenery 
are usually placed in a vase before the spirit-tab- 
lets in the home of the family. To some of the 
poor people living in the towns this is their only 
day in the country during the year. 

Over the doors of the houses, during the time 
of this festival, a willow-branch is usually sus- 
pended. It is believed to be useful in attracting 
the spirits of the dead to come and partake of the 
essence of food prepared for them and placed be- 
fore the ancestral tablets as well as at the graves. 
It is also believed that not only the spirits of the 
dead, but a large number of evil spirits, are set 
free to visit the earth at this feast, and the wil- 
low-branch, while it attracts the spirits related to 
the family, frightens away any that are not wel- 
come. 

The festival which ranks next in a Chinese 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 147 

boy’s estimation to the grand New Year’s holi- 
day is the “Feast of the Dragon-Boats.” It is 
sometimes spoken of as the “Children’s Festival.” 
The great feature in the festivities is the racing 
of the dragon-boats, of which, in populous cities, 
there are twenty or more. These boats are long 
and narrow, and will carry from ten to thirty 
men. The body and stern are gayly painted, and 
the bow is shaped like the raised head of a dragon 
with gaping jaws. A large drum is placed in the 
centre of the boat and much noise is made by 
beating gongs. A boy sitting up on the dragon’s 
head directs the movements of the rowers with a 
flag which he holds in his hands. 

Crowds of people assemble on the river-banks 
to watch the boats and the racing. The success- 
ful crews receive prizes, and much jealousy is ex- 
cited, and quarrels and fights often conclude the 
day’s performances. Accidents not unfrequently 
occur from the boats coming into collision with 
each other. 

This grand Chinese holiday had its origin in 
an event which occurred about s°° B. C. At 
that time there lived a very wise and prudent 
minister of state whose name was Ken Yuen. 
The prince he served was a man of violent tem- 
per and bad character, and when petitioned by 
his minister to introduce some reforms into the 
government of the country, he degraded and at 
last dismissed him. Unable to survive the dis- 


148 


home-life in china. 


grace he had sustained, Ken Yuen flung himself 
into the river and thus put an end to his life. 
Some fishermen who saw him disappear searched 
diligently for his body, but it was not found. 
Ever since, upon the anniversary of the death of 
this honest official, boats have gone out casting 
offerings on the river for the spirit of the departed, 
and going through the ceremony of searching for 
his body. 

On one occasion, it is said, the holiday-making 
worshippers were surprised by the appearance of 
Ken Yuen himself, who complained that the 
offerings intended for him were always stolen by 
an enormous reptile that made its home in the 
waters. Since that time the dragon-boats have 
been used at this festival, with the idea of fright- 
ening away the reptile of which Ken Yuen com- 
plained. 

In the eighth month of the year the “-Festival 
of the Moon” is held; it is sometimes called the 
u Feast of Rewarding the Moon.” 

Chinese children do not talk of the “man in 
the moon,” but they say there is a rabbit there 
engaged in pounding rice, or, some say, medi- 
cines. 

At this feast everybody eats moon-cakes, which 
can be obtained in great variety. Most of them 
are round like the moon, but they have curious 
figures on them, such as fishes and animals, 
among them the mythical rabbit. Some are 


CHINESE FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS. 149 

painted with spots of bright color, and others 
adorned with gold-leaf. 

The worship of the moon is one of great an- 
tiquity in all nations. The prophet Jeremiah 
refers to the worship of the Queen of Heaven in 
his day, and to the incense that was burned and 
the cakes that were offered before her. 

The Chinese say that their festival has an 
historical origin. The story they tell is as fol- 
lows: One evening the Emperor Ming Wong was 
walking in his palace grounds accompanied by 
some of his priestly advisers. The conversation 
turned upon the question, u Is the moon in- 
habited, or not?” The tutor of the young prince 
replied by asking him if he would like to pay a 
visit to it and see. He answered in the affirma- 
tive. The priest then threw his staff into the air, 
and it became a bridge over which he and his 
pupil passed to the brilliant luminary. They 
found it inhabited by beautiful women who lived 
in magificent palaces surrounded by charming 
gardens. The prince would fain have lingered 
amid these scenes of loveliness, but was called 
upon by his tutor to depart. On their way to 
earth the priest asked his pupil to play upon his 
lute which he carried with him, and of which 
he was very fond. They were just drawing 
near to the city of Nanking, and hearing what 
they concluded was celestial music, the inhabi- 
tants rushed to the roofs of their houses. The 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


I 5° 

prince, advised by his companion, showered down 
upon the people the cash he carried with him. 

Upon his return to his palace the prince was 
inclined to fancy all his adventures had been un- 
dertaken in the land of dreams, when a memorial 
was received from the Governor-general of the 
province over which he had passed, telling a story 
of wonderful music and showers of cash which 
had been heard and seen by the inhabitants of 
that district on the fifteenth of the eighth month. 

Of course the emperor was convinced that his 
trip to the moon was a reality, and ordered that 
henceforth the people should set apart the day on 
which he made his wonderful journey as a time 
of general rejoicing — a festival in honor of the 
moon. 



NEW YEAR’S MODE OF SALUTATION. 


IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 


!5 X 


CHAPTER IX. 

IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

“How do Chinese children learn to worship 
idols?” I can imagine you asking. 

Come with me and I will take you to one of 
their great gloomy temples. 

Not on a Sabbath, for there is no day of rest 
in China, but either on the first or fifteenth of the 
month, for these are the dates upon which people 
usually visit the temples. 

We must go up the flight of wide stone steps 
at the entrance, and as we enter we shall see two 
tall images with very ugly faces and brilliantly- 
painted coats, which are called “Guardians of 
the Gate.” 

Walking on into the temple, which looks dull 
and shadowy in the dim light, we shall come to 
the shrine of the great idol in whose honor the 
temple was built. A number of other images are 
ranged around it; they are the servants of the god, 
and large rings of incense are burning before it. 

In some temples Buddhist priests sit in rows 
repeating in a sort of chant words of prayer which 
they do not understand at all, since they are in 
another language. See the mothers bringing their 
little children forward and teaching them to clasp 

9 


152 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

their hands and bow down, knocking their heads 
to the ground as they worship the senseless idol ! 
If it is the first time, the children are afraid, and 
sometimes say, ‘ ‘ I can’ t do it ; I never shall do 
it.” Then they watch closely while their mothers 
once more show them how it is done. Afterwards 
they are sometimes rewarded with little presents, 
which they are told have been given to them by 
the idol. But if they are terrified and afraid to 
worship, they are told stories of the terrible things 
that happen to people who do not ask the protec- 
tion of the ugly idols. 

Nearly all the gods in whose honor Chinese 
temples are erected are the images of people who 
lived in India or China hundreds or thousands of 
years ago, and have since been deified and are 
worshipped. It is the same as if in England peo- 
ple were to bow down before images of King Al- 
fred, Shakespeare, Lord Nelson, or the Duke of 
Wellington. 

Sometimes, soon after children have been wor- 
shipping at a temple, they will fall ill, or some 
accident will happen to them. Then the parents 
immediately fancy the child has offended the god, 
and do all they can to make it forget its anger. 

One night, when we were coming home from 
our week-night sendee in the city of Wuchang, 
we passed a temple brightly lighted up. It had 
been built in honor of the god of the land and 
grain. It is unusual to see people worshipping 





IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 1 55 

at a temple late in the evening, and we turned 
aside to look at the people bending there. Two 
men were very devoutly burning incense and pa- 
per money, and their faces were very sad. When 
they had finished and were preparing to leave we 
asked why they had come to the temple at so late 
an hour. The elder of the two men turned to- 
wards us a very anxious face, and replied, “It is 
just three days now since I with my only son 
came here to worship. On the way home my 
little boy had a serious fall which has injured him 
severely. He is now very ill, and I fear he may 
not recover. I feel sure he must in some way 
have offended the god, and so I have brought 
large quantities of paper money and am sacri- 
ficing at this shrine, hoping that his anger may 
be turned away, and then my child will recover.” 

How thankful we were to be able to do some- 
thing to comfort the poor idol- worshipper ! We 
told him of a Father in heaven who loves all his 
children, and who alone could make the little boy 
well again. 

Let me take you to one or two more of the 
many temples in this city in which I have been 
living. Quite near to the Mission House is one 
in connection with a large printing establishment. 
It contains an immense gilt figure of Buddha, 
who, they say, leads people to the western heaven. 
Before this enormous figure you may often see 
offerings of flowers and rice placed. A large num- 


I56 HOME-LIKE IN CHINA. 

ber of Buddhist priests live in the monastery ad- 
joining this temple. They dress in long loose 
yellow robes, and their heads, being shaven, are 
quite bald. They may not eat meat, but live 
solely upon vegetables and rice. The gong is 
sounding for their mid-day meal. The abbot sits 
on a dais in the centre of the refectory, and the 
priests are ranged in rows on each side of him. 
There are about sixty monks living in this place. 
Before they take their meal they sing or chant a 
grace, but they do not understand the words they 
sing. A little of the food is then placed as an 
offering on a stone slab just outside the door. 
They eat their meal in perfect silence. When all 
have finished, and the chop-sticks are placed in 
order by the side of the blue basins, the gong is 
again struck, and the priests file out silently one 
by one. 

Buddhists think it an act of very great merit 
to preserve the life of any animal, and frequently 
when people come to worship at these temples 
they make a vow that they will preserve the life 
of some living creature. So one frequently sees 
in Buddhist temples fowls, ducks, and geese, or 
pigs and sheep, and also a pond filled with fish 
which have been rescued from the tanks in which 
they are exposed for sale by the fishmongers. At 
one temple I once saw a very ancient pig. The 
priest said it was a hundred years old, which 
was of course untrue. But it must have been 


IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. I.57 

quite venerable for a pig, and was sucb a deplora- 
ble-looking object that the next time I was there 
I was not sorry to hear that the pig was dead. 
Some people make a vow to release a large num- 
ber of sparrows. These birds are kept — a large 
number together — in cages hanging outside the 
poulterers’ shops; people buy twenty or thirty of 
them for the purpose of setting them free. 

Just outside the east gate of the city of Wu- 
chang there is a celebrated temple known as the 
Temple of Hades, and the god who is supposed to 
rule in the unseen regions is worshipped there. 
The first figure that would attract your notice is 
one far above life-size, with a black beard and 
flowing white robes, wearing a tall conical hat, 
with an umbrella over his shoulder. In his hand 
he holds the end of a chain, which is fastened 
round the representation of the wasted form of a 
dying man, and he is supposed to be dragging 
him along to judgment. When you ask a China- 
man what he thinks will happen to him when he 
dies, a common answer is, “Oh, Wutsang will 
come for me, I suppose. ’ ’ 

The little burial-ground belonging to the Chi- 
nese Christians is just outside the grim walls of 
this temple. Sometimes when we have gathered 
round the grave-side, to hold a short service be- 
fore committing to the earth the remains of some 
departed Christian, crowds from the heathen tem- 
ple have come and joined us. How strange the 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


glad words of triumphant faith sounded to them ! 
They know nothing of a bright hope beyond the 
grave, a rest “prepared for the people of God.” 

At both sides of this Temple of Hades are some 
terrible groups of figures which are too frightful 
for me to describe to you in detail. I only men- 
tion them at all that you may see how sad and 
hopeless is the heathen faith from which we are 
seeking to win these people. These groups rep- 
resent persons being judged for their sins, and 
some are enduring the punishments of the Buddh- 
ist hell. Here you see the figure of a man stand- 
ing before the judges of the unseen world. He is 
on a raised platform, and a mirror is hung before 
him in which he will see reflected the form he is 
to assume when born into the world again. The 
man is starting back in horror as he sees the figure 
of an ox reflected there. 

But before this second birth they believe he 
has to endure many fearful tortures, and in suc- 
cessive groups we see him surrounded by demons 
who are engaged in tormenting him. He is 
thrown on a hill of knives, sawn asunder, tied to 
a pillar heated red-hot, boiled in oil, and pounded 
in a mortar. Before he is born into the world 
again he must drink of the tea of forgetfulness, 
which is represented as being sold by two old 
women who sit at the gates of Hades. This tea, 
they say, makes men lose all remembrance of 
their former lives on earth. 


IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 159 

At the feet of the tall image with the chain 
there are always heaps of shoes lying — offerings 
from people who believe the idol has listened to 
their entreaties and spared the lives of their 
friends. Here is a baby boy’s tiny slipper, and 
there the shoe of a grown-up man. Oh, how sad 
it makes one to go into these places and see peo- 
ple trusting in these useless idols ! Sometimes I 
have seen men kneeling before these shrines plead- 
ing very earnestly. One, I remember, was asking 
that his life might long be spared; and another, 
who was troubled with asthma, prayed that when 
the time came for Wutsang to drag him away he 
would remember how short his breath was, and 
walk slowly. 

Another famous temple is the Yellow Stork 
Tower, a low pagoda, to which the following 
story is attached : Long, long ago there lived in 
this city of Wuchang a man named Shin, who 
was in business as a wine-merchant. Now it hap- 
pened that among the occasional frequenters of 
this house was a man whose name was Lu-Tsou. 
To this customer Mr. Shin had always shown 
much kindness, treating him as an intimate 
friend, and never being at all particular about 
the payment of the wine account. The thought 
had never entered the wine-merchant’s head that 
the person he was treating so hospitably was other 
than an ordinary mortal, till one day Lu-Tsou, as 
a token of gratitude for the kindness he had re- 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA 



160 


THE YELLOW STORK TOWER. 

ceived, turned the water of a well in Mr. Shin’s 
garden into wine. At the same time he took an 
orange, and dividing it into four quarters, mur- 
mured over it some potent charm, and immedi- 
ately it was changed into a stork, and settled upon 
a high pole in the wine-merchant’s garden. The 
fame of the w T onderful stork and the delicately- 
flavored wine spread through the city, and cus- 
tomers thronged Mr. Shin’s house till he became 





WUCHANG 



IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 163 

so wealthy that, in gratitude to his benefactor, he 
determined to build in his honor a fine temple, or 
three-storied pagoda. It stands there to-day, and 
from its upper story a fine view is obtained of the 
surrounding country. The broad stream of the 
magnificent Yang-tse-kiang flows past it. On the 
farther shore are the craggy slopes of the Han- 
yang hill, crowned with its white-walled temple, 
while the thickly -populated mart of Hankow 
stretches away at its foot. From the opposite 
side of the tower we look out upon the grand pro- 
vincial city, which is cut into three portions by 
low green hills, while the dwellings of the city 
lie crowded together in the valleys. Here and 
there the scene is relieved by the queer curled 
eaves of some temples or guilds or the walled 
gardens of some official’s residence. 

This Yellow Stork Tower, with the temples 
rising up one behind another in its rear, forms the 
principal recreation ground of the city. The 
lower story of the tower is always thronged with 
fortune-tellers and gambling-tables. 

A Tauist priest stands at the foot of the wind- 
ing staircase and begs a few cash of each visitor. 
Crowds of Chinamen are usually sitting round 
little tables in the upper story, enjoying a cup of 
tea with cakes and melon seeds, for the wine and 
the wonderful well of the legend have disappeared. 
In the centre of the top story there is an image of 
the deified philosopher Tu-Tsou, playing on his 


164 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

lute, while lie sits on the back of a stork, which 
with outspread wings is preparing to carry him 
through the regions of space. But the strangest 
sight of all is to be found in one of the temples 
behind the tower. This is the image of a god 
fast asleep, kept under a glass case! When Lu- 
Tsou goes through that part of the country, they 
say, he stops and sleeps there. Are you not re- 
minded of a text in your Bibles which tells us of 
the unceasing care of God over his people, and 
says, “Behold He that keepeth Israel shall neither 
slumber nor sleep ”? 

There are many more temples, hundreds I 
could tell you of, in most great Chinese cities. 

I have told you something of one or two, but 
should like to mention one more situated in a 
lovely spot, not in Wuchang, but on the Orphan 
Island, in the Poyang Take. 

Let me tell you of a visit I paid to it once. 
We had been on a journey of many days in our 
little boat on that great lake, and in returning 
anchored our small craft at the foot of the flight 
of steps and climbed up the steep ascent till we 
reached the temple buildings. The whole island 
was like a garden, the gray old rocks being cov- 
ered with lovely climbing plants, while the fra- 
grance of the Chinese jessamine scented the air. 
Inside the temple were a multitude of gods of va- 
rious names, but the one that interested me more 
than any other was the shrine of the Goddess of 



ORPHAN ISLAND, 



IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 1 67 

Mercy. There she sat on a throne decorated with 
magnificent carving, and over her head was a 
canopy composed of cloth of gold. But what at- 
tracted me most was two large screens on either 
side of the apartment, which were completely 
covered from top to bottom with offerings, in the 
shape of beautiful embroidered leaves or tiny ban- 
ners, which had each been worked by some wo- 
man or girl in the neighborhood. Some came 
from homes of grinding poverty, where every cash 
was needed to purchase daily food. And yet 
every one seemed to have used the finest and best 
materials; no one grudged denying herself in 
order to present this offering to the useless idol 
which had no power to help or save. As I looked 
at the beautiful work and thought of the skilful 
fingers which had embroidered this miniature 
landscape, of the girlish hands which had traced 
this simple border of flowers, how I longed for 
the time when the glad news of Jesus, all power- 
ful to save, shall brighten every Chinese home! 
Do we always offer to the Saviour who died for us 
the best we have to give — anything that costs 
self-denial and is a real sacrifice to us — or are the 
heathen more in earnest than we are ? 

If I were to go on to tell you the names only 
of all the gods and goddesses worshipped in China 
you would grow tired of hearing them, there are 
so many. So I will only mention a few of the 
principal ones. 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


168 


A very strange thing about them is that the 
greater number of the people whose images are 
now worshipped as gods in China are by no 
means individuals whom we should feel in- 
clined to reverence or even respect, if we are to 
believe the stories told of them by their worship- 
pers. 

There is a god of thieves, who is said to have 
been a great thief himself in former days; another 
god to which gamblers go for help; and even a 
god of swine, who helps people to find their pigs 
when they lose them. 

Even animals are worshipped also. 

The monkey is supposed to have power over 
evil spirits, the tiger to preserve children from 
danger, and so offerings are made to them. The 
viceroys and high mandarins in many parts of 
China worship the fox. Foxes are supposed in 
some peculiar way to take charge of the official 
seals, and so they must be worshipped by the 
rulers of the land; and the dragon king, who is 
believed to be able to give or withhold rain when 
it is needed, is worshipped not only by viceroys, 
but by the emperor himself. 

“If you do not believe in our other gods,” the 
Chinese say sometimes, “surely you will not 
deny that there is a god of thunder? See how he 
strikes people dead who have offended him !” It 
is the common belief in China that those who are 
killed by lightning, or thunder, as they say, are 


IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 169 

persons who have lived evil lives and displeased 
the gods. 

Not long ago a man who worked in an idol- 
maker’s shop lost his life in this way. I remem- 
ber, when the people were discussing the matter, 
they all agreed that as they did not know of any- 
thing seriously wrong in his life he must have 
been a very bad person in some previous state of 
existence, and was thus paying the penalty for 
crimes committed then. 

The god of fire is always worshipped after the 
frequent fires which occur in every Chinese city. 
He is supposed, I believe, by most people to be 
rather the deliverer from fire than the cause of 
it. 

A story is told in connection with a temple 
erected in his honor by a former emperor after the 
destruction of one of his finest palaces. In the 
midst of the fire the emperor declared he saw the 
figure of a little old man with a long white beard. 
Now this was considered very extraordinary, since 
the images of the god of fire are always represent- 
ed with red beards and are supposed to be con- 
nected with flames of fire. The emperor was very 
anxious to erect a temple in honor of the god, 
whom he feared he had offended; so he ordered 
his attendants to go to every temple in the city 
and try and discover the god of fire who had a 
white beard. This was a difficult matter, and all 
the principal temples in the city were searched 


[! 


IJO HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

without success. At last, in a dilapidated- temple 
outside one of the city gates, it was found that 
there was in existence an idol which, being mi- 
nus a beard, had been supplied with one made of 
frayed-out hemp. 

The case was reported to the emperor, who 
visited the ruined temple in great state, doing 
reverence before the image and vowing that he 
would build for it a temple as fine as any in the 
city. 

The new building was erected on the site of 
the neglected, ruined shrine. 

The god of war is worshipped by many others 
as well as soldiers, for they believe that he will 
make them strong and courageous. Sc lately as 
1855 they say he appeared before the imperial 
troops and led them to victory over the rebels; 
and since then they have raised him to higher 
rank among the gods than before. 

Nearly every trade in China has its special 
patron, but the god of wealth is honored by mer- 
chants of every rank. His image, set in a small 
niche, with incense burning before it, is seen in 
most Chinese shops, and he is believed to help 
his worshippers to become speedily rich. 

The goddess of mercy, “Ma-Chu,” the god- 
dess of sailors, and an idol called “Mother” 
have a large number of worshippers, especially 
among women and children. When there is a 
storm at sea, or on one of the great lakes or rivers 




IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 171 

of China, the sailors cry piteously for mercy to 
the “Venerable Mother Ma-Chu,” who, they be- 
lieve, will come to their rescue. 

The original of the goddess, if we may be al- 
lowed that term, died when a girl of twenty. 
During her lifetime she told a wonderful story of 
a remarkable dream she had. Her father and 
brothers were seafaring men, and, while anxious- 
ly expecting their return, she dreamed she was 
out at sea watching three junks in great danger. 
She seized one of them in either hand and the 
third she held between her teeth, and, swimming 
thus, she had almost reached a haven of safety; 
but hearing her mother call to her she felt com- 
pelled to answer, and so loosed her hold upon the 
third boat, and awaking found it was a dream. 
But some days after the brothers returned, telling 
of the wonderful deliverance of their two junks 
by an invisible power, and how their father’s 
boat was wrecked when almost within sight of 
land. It was evident to all who heard the story 
that Ma-Chu, without knowing it, was possessed 
of miraculous power, and since her death the 
honor due to a goddess has been paid to her. 

Little boys and girls are very early taught to 
worship the goddess called “Mother,” who, with 
a large number of attendants, is supposed care- 
fully to watch over children and protect them 
through the diseases of infancy. 

I have told you much about the gods of China 


1/2 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


in which so many millions of the Chinese place 
their trust. But some of the wisest men of the 
nation have little faith in them. Yet every one 
believes in the necessity for worshipping the 
spirits of his ancestors if he would be prosperous 
in life. As I said before, every man is believed 
to have three souls ; one, at death, enters the 
spirit-tablet, a sort of carved cabinet, with tiny 
folding-doors, containing a small wooden tablet 
upon which the deceased person’s name is writ- 
ten. 

People w r ill occasionally be found who laugh 
at idol worship and have little faith in most su- 
perstitious observances, and yet they believe firmly 
in the necessity for and possibility of supplying 
the needs of departed relatives by placing con- 
stant offerings before the spirit-tablet. 

Sometimes a priest will inform a family that 
their friend in the unseen world is in great diffi- 
culties. They must send him large sums of 
money, and religious services must be held for 
several days. In their anxiety and grief they lis- 
ten to all the priest tells them. 

A service of this kind took place one day in 
the garden of a house quite near to us. The fa- 
ther of a little boy I knew well had died about a 
year before, and it was his spirit that the priests 
said w r as in trouble. The poor boy, w T ho w^as his 
father’s eldest son, w T as the principal actor in the 
ceremonies. He w r as a bright, intelligent little 



SERVICE FOR THE DEAD. 





IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 1 75 

fellow, but it will be long before I forget the look 
of terror that was in the child’s face as, dressed in 
his white mourning robes, he followed the direc- 
tions of the priests and bowed rapidly at frequent 
intervals, while incense and paper money were 
burned, gongs beaten, and crackers exploded. 

Besides what may be strictly called religious 
observances, the Chinese have many strange and 
superstitious customs. It is not proper in China 
to have walls frequently whitewashed, for white 
is the color of mourning; it is very rash to have 
windows in a house, lest they should afford in- 
gress to evil spirits. 

If your front-door faces a street or lane you 
must be sure and erect a wall or wooden screen 
immediately opposite to it to prevent evil spirits 
from finding an entrance. Roads in China are 
rarely made straight, but wind and twist in a 
most wearying and perplexing manner; for it is 
believed spirits have an objection to these wind- 
ing paths, while on the broad, straight way they 
will certainly be met with. 

When there is an eclipse of the sun or moon 
in China, it is well known that, although the com- 
ing event is announced beforehand in the Chinese 
almanacs, it is nevertheless believed by many that 
the phenomenon is caused by an attempt on the 
part of an animal known as the “Heavenly Dog” 
to eat up the luminary. The common people 
seem thoroughly convinced that it is a time of 

io 


i?6 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


very real danger, and make a most terrible noise 
with gongs and cymbals till the eclipse passes 
over, and they believe their efforts have proved 
effectual and the “Heavenly Dog” has been 
• frightened away. 

This dog is the source of considerable anxi- 
ety to them in another connection. One sum- 
mer evening, when I had not been long in Chi- 
na, my curiosity was aroused by the sudden burst- 
ing out of a perfect babel of sounds from the 
quiet streets which skirted the mission compound. 
Gongs were beaten, crackers exploded, and most 
of the domestic utensils of iron or tinware were 
taken out and utilized to add to the universal din. 
I called our servant to inquire the cause, and 
was informed that the note of the nine-headed 
bird had been heard in our neighborhood, and 
everybody was in fear lest it should rest upon 
their house. This bird was said to have original- 
ly possessed ten heads, but one of them had long 
ago been bitten off by that notorious 4 4 heavenly 
dog.” The wound has never healed, and as the 
bird flies along, if it chances to rest upon a house, 
the blood dripping from it dooms it to destruction 
by fire. No wonder, when the distant croak of 
what was probably some solitary owl was heard, 
the superstitious people, fearing for the safety of 
their homes, seized on every available article and 
spared no pains in making a din sufficient to 
drive any bird away from their neighborhood. 


IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 1/7 

So do the Chinese people seem to spend their 
lives from the cradle to the grave, in constant 
fear of unseen and often imaginary enemies. They 
spend large sums of money in purchasing charms 
which are sold by the Tauist priests, and are con- 
stantly seeking by numberless devices to keep at 
bay the spirits of evil which they believe are ever 
striving to do them harm. 


i;8 


home-life: in china. 


CHAPTER X. 

TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 

I HAVE told you what strange superstitions 
the Chinese have about the powers which they 
fancy are able to influence men’s lives. You have 
heard how the children are taught to bow down 
and worship grim idols of wood and stone, of 
which terrible stories are told, and have never 
dreamed of a God who loves little children, watch- 
ing over them with tenderest care. 

We go to China to tell not only the grown-up 
men and women, but also the boys and girls, the 
good news which we have known ever since we 
could understand anything — the news that we 
have a Father in heaven who loves us so much 
that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoso- 
ever believeth in Him might not perish but have 
everlasting life. 

Perhaps you would like to know how we teach 
these Chinese boys and girls. First of all we 
have to win their confidence, and make the fa- 
thers and mothers as well as the children less afraid 
of us. For when we first go into a Chinese city 
many of the boys and girls will run away and 
hide themselves, afraid lest we should catch them 
and do some dreadful thing to them. Some of 
them will run after us, calling u Yang-kwei-tsz,” 


/ 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 1 79 

which means something like ‘ ‘ foreign evil spirit, ’ ’ 
and other bad names, and a few will pick up 
stones and throw them at us, trying thus to drive 
us away. 

“But why are they angry when they see us 
coming into their cities ?’ ’ you will ask, ‘ ‘ and 
why are they afraid of us ?’ ’ Principally because 
we are not Chinamen, and have come from an- 
other country. The Chinese very much dislike 
people of other countries coming and trading or 
having any other dealings with them, and most of 
them would be very glad if we were all driven out 
of China to-morrow. Englishmen and other for- 
eigners would not have got into the country at qjl 
if it had not been for a great war which we had 
with them. England was victorious, and so she 
obliged China to open several of her ports to trade 
with foreigners, and to allow them to live there. 
And ever since all that our nation or any other 
has gained from China has always been at the 
point of the sword, or because they were afraid of 
us. So it is only natural that they are not pleased 
to see us walking about the streets of their cities. 

There is another reason for their disliking us, 
and a still sadder one. There is a plant which 
grows over vast tracts of land in India, which you 
know belongs to England. It is a very innocent- 
looking flower, and is called the poppy. Perhaps 
it has done more harm than any other flower that 
ever grew. There is a juice that oozes from the 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


I So 

capsules of this flower which, when dry, becomes 
opium, a powerful drug which millions of people 
in China are smoking to-day. They never sit up 
to smoke it, but lie down on a couch. It often 
gives them very strange and beautiful dreams, and 
so they are tempted to try it again. Before very 
long they think they can much more easily do 
without food or clothing than without their smoke 
of opium, and at last, when all they possess has 
been pawned and sold, they will even sell their 
wives and children to get more opium. Their 
faces get very haggard-looking, their eyes sunken, 
so that you know a confirmed opium-smoker di- 
rectly you meet him in the street. 

It is very sad to think that this drug that 
does so much harm is sent to China by English- 
men, since India belongs to them. A great deal 
of opium is grown in China now, for the Chinese 
farmers find it pays much better than their oth- 
er crops. But when England tops sending the 
Indian opium — which we hope she will soon do 
— then the best men in China will do all they 
can to stop the growth of it in their own land, 
which they see is being ruined by it. “Where 
do you come from?” the Chinese often ask mis- 
sionaries, and when they answer, “From Eng- 
land,” we see a sneer on their faces, and they 
say, “England! Ah, that is the country that 
sends the opium to kill our people !” So you see 
there are several reasons why the Chinese do not 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. l8l 

give us a very warm welcome. And since they 
do not like us, the officials have from the first 
circulated some very wicked and untrue stories 
about us. They say we have very powerful and 
efficacious medicines, and large numbers who at- 
tend our mission hospitals know this to be true, 
but they add that we make these medicines out 
of the eyes of people who become Christians, and 
from the bones of little Chinese babies. No won- 
der then that people are afraid to let their children 
come near us lest they should never see them again. 

We try to win their friendship in many ways. 
Having learned their language, we are soon able 
to say a few kind words to the children, and then 
we often give them some little pictures, which 
delight them very much. After a while we are 
able to go and see their mothers in their own 
homes, and then they will come and see us, being 
curious to look at the strange things they find in 
our houses. What a number of questions they al- 
ways have to ask us! “Is there a sun and a moon 
in your country?” they inquire. “Are there 
hills and trees?” “Why do you not have black 
eyes like ours? Have they faded out?” “Can 
you see with them several feet down into the 
earth, and know where gold and silver are lying?” 
“Why do your women have such large feet, just 
like men, instead of ‘golden lilies ’ three inches 
long?” “Why do you wear your hair in such a 
strange fashion, instead of having it glued down 


i 82 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


on wire shapes ?” 4 ‘Why do foreign ladies wear 

coverings over their heads when they go out of 
doors? It is just like the men!’ ’ These and very 
many more questions are constantly asked and 
answered. Then sometimes we sing to them 
English hymns that have been translated into 
Chinese, such as “Jesus loves me,” “There is a 
happy land,” and many more. We show them 
pictures too of scenes in the life of Christ, and tell 
them a great deal about him. After a while they 
begin to think perhaps the bad reports they have 
heard are not quite true. 

“I have often thought of coming, with my 
daughter, to see you,” said a mandarin’s wife to 
me, “but I felt so much afraid of you that I al- 
ways put it off. I shall have no fear in future, 
for I think you are, after all, not so very unlike 
ourselves.” This is how, step by step, we get 
the people to come around us, and at last to allow 
their children to attend our schools. 

It is much easier to do this when we are set- 
tled in a large town; but there are many millions 
of people in China who have never heard of Jesus 
and his salvation, and many cities which have 
never been visited by a missionary. So some- 
times during the spring and autumn seasons we 
go and visit some of the towns that have no set- 
tled missionary, and try to tell the good news and 
to sell Christian books to people who frequently 
have never before had an opportunity of hearing 






TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 185 

the gospel preached. We usually take these trips 
in small native boats. The arched roof is of mat- 
ting, tarred, to keep out the rain, and it is so low 
that we cannot stand quite upright in it. We are 
favored with two small windows, but they are 
filled up with thin sheets of oyster-shells instead 
of glass. By taking away one of the movable 
boards we can make an opening through wdiich 
we creep on to the little bit of deck. Sometimes 
when sitting inside our boat this opening serves 
as a window, through which we get pretty peeps 
at the beautiful river scenery or glimpses of pass- 
ing junks. 

The inside of our boat is furnished with two 
stools, and the raised locker serves us for table by 
day and bedstead at night. Our bedding does not 
take up much room, since it consists only of pukais , 
or wadded quilts, such as the Chinese use. And 
a comfortable bed it makes, when one is snugly 
rolled up in it in Chinese fashion. 

Our Chinese servant is sitting in the boat, on 
guard. He cooks all our meals for us at a tiny 
charcoal stove on board belonging to the boat- 
man. When we reach a large country town, Mr. 
Bryson goes on shore and preaches or sells books 
in the streets and market-places. Sometimes he 
is accompanied by a missionary friend who travels 
in another small boat, and sometimes by a native 
Christian, who is very glad to tell his fellow-coun- 
trymen of what Jesus has done for him. 




1 86 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


But what crowds of women and children come 
to the boat to see me! The boys climb up on the 
side of it, and small black eyes watch me curious- 
ly through many a crack and hole, as if I were 
some wonderful wild animal on view for their 
amusement. After a while the women muster up 
courage, and one after another creeps into the boat 
or crouches down on the tiny deck, and listens to 
what I have to tell them. Then the little boys 
and girls come forward and are made happy with 
a picture or text-card. At last so many come 
running from the city to our quiet anchorage 
that the boatman gets alarmed. He is afraid too 
many will crowd on to the boat, and it will cap- 
size. So he puts out farther from the shore. Then 
the people hire ferry-boats, and crowds of them 
come out and surround us, especially if they hap- 
pen to have heard I have a little foreign boy on 
board. 

They came out in this way once at a place 
called Pau-ngan, situated on the shores of a beau- 
tiful lake, which looked very lovely, for the trees 
which adorned its banks were all clothed in the 
brilliant tints of autumn. On the same journey 
we passed on to another city called Chin-nieu, 
where the people became very angry with us. 
They threw great stones on the frail mat-roof of 
our boat, and we had entered a narrow creek, so 
we were quite at their mercy. After a time they 
became quieter, and some were willing to buy 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 187 

books and listen to the preaching. At other places 
they were so anxious to get books that they swam 
across the stream to obtain them. So we go on 
from day to day on these country journeys, some- 
times being driven away from the place, and at 
other times meeting with people who are very 
glad to see and hear us. u Is Jesus living now?” 
u How is it he was not born in China ?” “If all 
this happened so long ago, how is it that we in 
this great Middle Kingdom have been so long in 
hearing of it ?’ ’ These and many other questions 
are asked of us daily. Sometimes we hear of no 
results from these visits, only we know no work 
done for God can be in vain, and we believe he 
will bless the seed that is sown and make it spring 
up, even though it be “ after many days.” 

Now and then, long after our visits, we hear 
of people who, on these occasions, for the first time 
heard of Jesus. They have studied the books they 
have bought, and then come up to the city deter- 
mined to hear more of so good a religion. One 
earnest Christian boy heard of the gospel first in 
his native town, from which the missionaries had 
been driven with violence. When he grew older 
and came to Wuchang, he found out the chapel, 
and before long became a true believer in Jesus, 
and had to endure much persecution and suffering 
on account of his faith. 

But to go back to the city. There we have a 
Chinese mission hospital, which relieves the suf- 


i88 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


ferings of many thousands of people every year. 
One day two little girls were brought there who 
were believed to be quite blind. Dr. Mackenzie, 
who was then in charge of it, was able to perform 
an operation, after which they were able to see. 
How glad they and their parents were you can 
imagine ! These two girls heard about Jesus in 
the hospital, they learned to believe in him, and 
are now living happy Christian lives in their vil- 
lage homes. 

A boy was brought to the hospital who was 
suffering very great pain because he had per- 
formed what in China is considered a meritorious 
action. His father was ill, and, hoping to cure 
him, he had actually cut a piece of flesh out of 
his own leg and given it to his father among his 
other food, hoping that he would recover from his 
sickness. Very many filial sons do this in China: 
they are told if they do it “with a pure heart ” 
their parents will certainly recover. This poor 
boy was very ill indeed for a long time. Another 
boy, who was the son of a mandarin living in a 
city farther down the river, was brought to the 
hospital by his mother, who was on a visit to the 
town. He recovered from his illness, and having 
heard much about Jesus in the hospital and from 
Mr. Owen, who used to teach him every night, 
he determined to become a Christiap. I remem- 
ber him well on the last Sunday before he left to 
return to his heathen home. How happy he 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 1S9 

looked singing the glad Christian hymns in the 
chapel ! He was going, like Joseph, far away 
from all who loved and worshipped the God he 
had chosen. But He who kept Joseph faithful in 
the dark land of Egypt could keep this Chinese 
boy through the trials he would certainly have to 
endure. 

I told you how, by degrees, we were able to 
get people to allow their children to come to our 
schools. Eet me tell you a little about them and 
the lessons they learn. We always try to obtain 
a Christian master who is also a good scholar. 
The children get a very good Chinese education, 
and in addition they study the Bible and cate- 
chism. They have wonderfully good memories, 
and I think you would find they could surpass 
most English children if they were set to learn 
the same lesson by heart. Many of them think 
nothing of repeating several chapters or even a 
whole Gospel from memory; and not long ago, in 
a mission-school in North China, they had a boy 
who could repeat the whole of the New Testa- 
ment through without mistake. 

I should like you to hear some of our Chinese 
children singing. They have not very musical 
voices in Central China, neither had they for a 
long time the least idea of time. But they do 
thoroughly enjoy singing their hymns, many of 
which are translations of those you sing in Eng- 
lish. 


I90 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

During the great examination season, when 
some ten thousand students come up from all parts 
of the province to compete for their degree, it is a 
very busy time in the city of Wuchang. 

The parents of some of our boys are very poor, 
and they are obliged to keep them away from 
school for half the day, so that they may earn a 
little money by carrying about baskets of nuts and 
cakes and selling them to the students. On one 
of these occasions, I was told, by some one who 
heard them, that while our little scholars were 
trying to sell their wares they took the opportu- 
nity, every now and then, to join in singing one 
of their school hymns. It was a new one they 
had just been learning: 

" In heaven there is no more sorrow, 

There is no more death and pain.” 

The strange sounds gathered a little crowd around 
the boys. “Where did you learn that song?” 
asked a grave elderly man wearing large specta- 
cles in heavy tortoise-shell frames, giving him, in 
Chinese eyes, a most learned appearance. “We 
were taught it at the Glad Tidings Hall,” replied 
the children. “It sounds very strange, and yet 
there is something attractive in it,” said another 
student. “It is extraordinary that the foreigners 
should teach children anything like that.” 

We were pleased to hear that our boys had 
been trying to sing for Jesus, for we know how 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 191 

glad "he is to receive the services of children, even 
in their earliest days. 

Others we know repeat the lessons they have 
learned at school in their own homes, and some 
are teaching their little friends much of what they 
learn. One of our boys, named Tsz-Sz-Heu, had a 
number of little friends who were not allowed by 
their parents to come to the Christian school. He 
used, after leaving school, to tell the other boys 
the Bible stories he had heard there. One day 
Mr. Bryson was surprised to see a number of 
strange boys’ faces peeping into the chapel ad- 
joining the schoolroom where he had been preach- 
ing. The remarkable thing about them was that 
these boys did not seem at all afraid of him, as 
most heathen boys would have been. He began 
talking to the children, and was much surprised 
when one little boy said, “We know it is wrong 
to worship idols. The God we must serve is our 
Father in heaven, who sent his Son to die for us.” 
They went on to say that since every one had done 
wrong, and all have sinned and must be punished, 
Jesus died, and those who believe in him are saved, 
and live for ever in heaven. “And who taught 
you all this?” the children were asked. They 
replied that it was their little friend, our scholar. 
Tsz-Sz-Heu was by no means one of our brightest 
boys, and we were much encouraged to find that 
he had himself become a little missionary and 
was teaching his young companions. 


192 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

Christmas day is always a holiday long looked 
forward to by our school - children, for then we 
have a grand feast and prizes are distributed. 
How busy they are all the day before gathering 
and collecting evergreens to adorn the school- 
room! Then a large number of colored Scripture 
pictures are arranged round the walls, and here 
and there pairs of scarlet Chinese scrolls are hung 
up, bearing a text or having some suitable motto 
written upon them. 

Among the native Christians there was one 
man who had once belonged to a wealthy family 
in a far-distant province. He had wasted all his 
money, and was in very poor circumstances when 
he came to our city and heard the gospel first. 
He could write or paint the strange Chinese char- 
acters most beautifully, and had been accustomed 
at the New Year’s season to earn a great deal of 
money by writing scrolls intended to serve idola- 
trous or superstitious purposes. He was requested 
to write many such after he heard the gospel. He 
had not become a member of the church, but his 
reply was, “No; I have decided to join the Chris- 
tians. I can have nothing to do with anything 
connected with idolatry.” Here is one of the 
mottoes he wrote for the school treat : ‘ ‘ The 
birthday of Him who brought joy to men of every 
land.” 

Our reading-desk was adorned with fragrant 
lemons peeping out among their glossy leaves; 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 1 93 

then there were “heavenly bamboos, ” with their 
brilliant berries, and many other plants. 

When Christmas morning came you may be 
sure the children and their parents were all there 
in very good time, attired in their best clothing in 
honor of the day. First we sang a hymn. It was 
“Hark, the herald angels sing,” in Chinese, of 
course ; then, after prayer, the beautiful story of 
the Babe of Bethlehem was read, followed by a 
Christmas address from the pastor, which seemed 
to be full of interest to the smallest children. 
After the conclusion of the service the prizes were 
given out What an exciting moment it was, for 
parents as well as children, when one child after 
another came up to receive the prize allotted to 
him ! 

Every one was made happy with something, 
though all the gifts were not of equal value. 
Here were some gay little Chinese caps, just the 
thing for the New Year’s season, which was so 
soon coming on. Here were some lead-pencils 
and pocket-knives, which had been sent out from 
England by some kind friends of Chinese chil- 
dren. Here were books filled with pictures, which 
would give the children and their friends pleasure 
for many a long day to come. 

When every child had received a present it 
was about time for the feast to commence. You 
would have been surprised to see how fast the 
chop-sticks go to work, and how quickly the rice- 

11 


Home-Life in China. 


i94 


HOME- LIFE IN CHINA. 


basins need refilling. Eight children sit at each 
table. In the centre of every table stands a basin 
of stewed fish or meat, as the case may be. Ev- 
ery boy helps himself as he feels inclined, accord- 
ing to Chinese custom, out of this centre dish, blit 
each child has a rice-basin to himself or herself. 
Besides the dav-school we have a Sunday-school, 
which is attended by all the week-day scholars 
and as many others as they can persuade to come 
with them by holding out the promise of a little 
picture to be given by the teacher. 

Some of the older lads have left school and are 
now in situations. They have received permis- 
sion from their masters to attend the school, but 
unfortunately the number who are thus allowed 
to come is very small. 

The school is opened just like Sunday-schools 
at home, with singing and prayer, and then the 
teachers, who are all members of the church, take 
their separate classes and go over the same lesson, 
which most of them have prepared with the pastor 
in the early morning of the previous day. When 
teaching-time is over, a colored illustration of the 
lesson for the day is hung upon the blackboard 
and the children are questioned upon what they 
have been taught. 

Quite a forest of hands goes up as a proof that 
they can answer nearly every question ; and I 
think that our children at home who were study- 
ing the same lesson would have to be very atten- 


TEACHING CHINESE CHILDREN. 1 95 

tive, or they would find the Chinese boys and 
girls could pass the examination more success- 
fully than they. 

It is more difficult to get girls to our school 
than boys, but those who come, if only allowed to 
attend regularly, we find quite as bright and intel- 
ligent as their brothers. Before the principal fes- 
tivals of the year we always speak very earnestly 
to the children about the sin of idolatry, for we 
know they will see so much of it around them on 
every hand. 

After one New Year’s holiday we found that 
some of our boys had been to several of the idol 
shrines, and pulling out the sticks of incense burn- 
ing before them, had thrown them away. In one 
small temple they had knocked down one or two 
small figures of the attendants of the idol, to show 
the people they were of no use and no one need be 
afraid of them. But of course we had to condemn 
such lawless proceedings. 

Some who were scholars when we first com- 
menced the school are now almost young men. 

One of them is hoping to become a preacher 
of the gospel; some are in situations in places of 
business or in service, and are trying to live as 
Christians. 





PART II. 


CHAPTER I. 

yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 

One day in mid-autumn, some twenty years 
ago, the streets of a grand old city in Central 
China were all astir with busy life. Some of the 
bright-colored sign-boards had been adorned with 
a new coat of paint, and most of the tradesmen 
had a brisk business-like air about them, as if 
times were good and trade flourishing. If you 
had gone out of the main thoroughfares into the 
more retired streets you would have seen large red 
bills pasted above the doorways, intimating that 
within there were apartments to let for the “Se- 
nior Wrangler.” What young student in need of 
apartments could resist the attraction of such an 
advertisement? All these were signs that the 
great Triennial Examinations were in progress 
and the city had been making preparations to re- 
ceive her ten thousand guests. These scholars 
had come up from all parts of the province, with 
the hope of obtaining in the competitive examina- 
tions the degree which is the passport in China to 
official rank and honor. 


198 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


Not only was young China represented there, 
gay in robes of delicate-colored silks and crepes , 
but there were venerable men also, with snowy 
locks and forms bent with age. They had entered 
in many a contest, and failed to receive the prize 
which only sixty-one in ten thousand can obtain, 
but they were determined to try again, since they 
considered the honor more than sufficient reward 
for all the toil and pains spent in striving after 
it. 

It w T as at this time that a respectable middle- 
aged man might have been seen passing along one 
of these crowded streets. At last he stopped before 
the shop of a dealer in fancy wares and needle- 
work, and might have been seen gazing through 
the open shop-front at some of the beautiful handi- 
work exhibited there. Here wore squares of gor- 
geous scarlet, embroidered with beautiful sprays 
of flowers, which are in great request as marriage 
presents. Tadics’ head-dresses wore there also in 
oreat variety. A sort of band or coronet to encircle 

o J 

the head w r as the foundation in all cases; but wdiile 
some wore elaborately embroidered, others wore 
studded with ornaments not unlike tiny brooches. 
Beside them wore caps for boys, of various bright 
colors, adorned w 7 ith gay silk tassels, dainty embioi- 
dered purses, and a variety of other small articles. 

The master of the establishment had a large 
number of employees among the poor women of the 
neighborhood, who helped to keep their house- 


yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 199 

holds beyond the reach of want by their skilful 
and beautiful handiwork. 

The man who had been looking at all the 
varied show of ornamental needlework soon en- 
tered the shop. He wished to purchase a specta- 
cle case, and after much talking and bargaining 
the business was concluded. Then, to his dismay, 
the customer discovered that he had not with him 
sufficient money to pay for his purchase. Look- 
ing round, he saw, playing near to him, a little 
dark-eyed boy about seven years of age. Yau-ting 
was the little fellow’s name; he was a bright live- 
ly child, and the pet of the household. The pur- 
chaser turned to the assistant who had served 
him, and apologizing for the dilemma in which 
he found himself, suggested that the boy should 
accompany him to his home, which was not far 
off, and receive payment for the spectacle case. 
With the ready politeness which is so character- 
istic of the Chinese the offer was accepted, and 
the middle-aged man and the little boy might 
soon have been seen walking side by side through 
the busy streets. 

In the meantime the father of the child had 
returned home, and being busily engaged in at- 
tending to customers, failed to notice the absence 
of his little son. “Where is Yau-ting?” he in- 
quired after a while, expecting to hear that the 
little fellow was playing with some of his childish 
companions. 


200 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


“Yau-ting!” repeated the assistant, and there 
was a look of dismay upon his face, “why, I 
thought he had returned long ago. ’ ’ 

o o o 

‘ ‘ Where did you think he would return from ?” 
asked the unsuspecting father. 

“Why, he went away almost an hour ago 
with a customer who came from the Glad Tidings 
Hall, which has been lately opened in the city.” 

The father’s face grew pale with fear, and he 
turned sharply upon the young man. “You 
dared to send my son into that infamous place ! 
You, who have heard how the outer barbarians 
murder and extract the eyes of innocent children, 
to obtain the means for making their strangely 
efficacious medicines ! Why, the child may be in 
terrible danger at this moment!” and unable to 
endure the thought of the tragedy which his fancy 
pictured, the father rushed from the house, deter- 
mined to do everything in his power to rescue his 
child from the hands of those who were connected 
with the terrible barbarians. 

Meanwhile the mother and the other members 
of the family, having heard that the hope of the 
house had been spirited away by a member of the 
hated “Jesus religion,” wept and bewailed as if 
the news of the little one’s death had already 
reached them. And the father, heedless of the 
busy life of the crowded thoroughfares, careless of 
the coolies hastening on with their heavy loads, 
unconscious of everything but his child’s danger, 


yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 201 

saw and heard nothing till he reached the ‘ ‘ Glad 
Tidings Hall of the Jesus religion.” It was an 
ordinary building, merely a shop turned into a 
preaching hall. He would never have dreamed 
of entering the place at any other time; but now 
his child was there, and, father-like, his only 
thought was how he might rescue him. He en- 
tered, and the first sight he saw was the small 
Yau-ting happily playing with another Chinese 
boy of about the same age. 

The teacher who was in charge of the hall, 
and in whose company the child had left his 
home, advanced towards him. He politely in- 
vited him to enter the guest-room and drink tea 
there, apologizing at the same time for detaining 
the little lad so long, because he was anxious to 
remain with his new-found playfellow. At any 
other time I have no doubt Mr. Fan would have 
most certainly declined the invitation. He would 
have feared that any beverage offered to him in 
such a place might not be tea at all, but the 
“medicine of bewilderment,” which it was said 
changed men’s thoughts and lives, and made 
them “willing to do anything the Jesus people 
said was right.” 

But, w T ith his heart filled with the sense of re- 
lief that the sight of his precious little son had 
given him, he was for the moment oblivious of all 
evil reports. He sat down with the teacher Pau, 
and drank of the tea he offered, while they smoked 


202 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


together the pipe of friendship. Although he did 
not remain long, before leaving Mr. Fan had 
promised to call again, and had invited the teacher 
to his own home. Mr. Pau politely accompanied 
his visitor to the door, begging him to “walk 
slowly,” apologizing meanwhile, in Chinese fash- 
ion, for scant hospitality. Mr. Fan replied with 
the usual polite expressions, and holding the hand 
of his little son made his way home with a grate- 
ful heart. 

The whole family welcomed the little wander- 
er, and rejoiced together as they laughed at their 
previous fears. And in the teacher’s home there 
was gladness too that night — the poor teacher, 
whose life was by no means an easy one, since he 
was the sole witness for Jesus in all that great 
city. He might have become used to the jeers of 
common people and the sneers of the haughty 
literati , but constant repetition did not make him 
feel their scornful words any the less. The proud 
disciples of Confucius were constantly inquiring 
what he meant by his presumptuous attempt to 
aid “ the barbarians,” by helping them in spread- 
ing the doctrines of the ‘ ‘ unknown Western teach- 
er, called Jesus,” among those w T ho were followers 
of China’s revered sage. 

Human nature finds it hard to grow accus- 
tomed to these things, and day after day, as this 
lonely servant of Christ closed the doors of the 
preaching hall while the evening shadows were 


yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 203 

darkening in the narrow streets, his heart sank 
within him. Despised and rejected, hated by all, 
truly, like many another Christian in China to- 
day, he had to take up his cross and follow his 
divine Master very closely along the path of trial 
and suffering. One, who was in all points tempt- 
ed even as His servants are, pitied the weary heart 
of His faithful follower, and sent this ray of sun- 
shine to brighten his lonely way. 

The adventures of small Yau-ting served as 
a link to bind together his own and the teacher’s 
family. They exchanged frequent visits, and the 
Christian teacher had many opportunities of com- 
mending the truths he believed to the notice of 
his. new friends. The women of the families be- 
came acquainted also, and the teacher’s wife was 
indeed glad as she told her heathen sister of One 
who is the Friend of women in every land. 

Time passed on, and Yau-ting’ s father became 
a believer in Jesus and decided to cast in his lot 
with the despised Christians, and his wife also gave 
her heart to Christ. They were received into the 
church, and Yau-ting and his parents were rarely 
absent from their places in the chapel when the 
Lord’s day came round. One of my bright mem- 
ories of early days in China is the recollection of 
Yau-ting’ s happy face as he sang with all his 
heart translations of those well-known hymns 
which are as dear to Chinese Christians as they 
are to us. 


204 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


The boy’s seat in chapel used to be between 
his young friend, the teacher’s son, and our senior 
deacon, Hu. An earnest and devoted servant of 
the Lord was Hu, one whose constant desire it 
was to tell those who had never heard it the glad 
tidings which had filled his own life with joy. Two 
of that little trio are no longer members of the 
church militant. They stand before the throne, 
a part of that multitude which no man can num- 
ber, who shall come out of every kingdom and peo- 
ple and tongue, who are coming now from the 
“Land of Sinim.” 

The next great event which I remember in the 
life of young Yau-ting was his marriage. He was 
only a lad of sixteen or so, but Chinese custom 
betroths babies and marries girls and boys. I 
saw the boy-bridegroom on his wedding day, at 
the marriage feast, to which we were invited. 
Very bright and handsome he looked, attired in 
the grand robes of a high official, which may be 
worn on his marriage day by every Chinese bride- 
groom. In accordance with the usual custom, he 
handed round several dishes to the guests invited 
to the feast, and then retired. The little bride 
was not so pleasant-looking as her boy-husband. 
Her face was sadly scarred with small-pox, but 
she had a gentle and grave expression of counte- 
nance. She used to come with her mother-in-law 
and little sister to my weekly Bible-class, and 
would watch my every movement with frightened 


yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 205 

questioning eyes. No wonder, poor child; for she 
had doubtless heard many terrible stories in her 
country home of the hated foreigners, and could 
not at once place in us so much confidence as she 
saw the rest of the family did. Gradually and 
by slow degrees the trembling girlish heart was 
won, not only to regard the foreign teachers with 
friendliness, but, best of all, to love and reverence 
the Lord Jesus as her Saviour; and after a time 
of probation she was received into the fellowship 
of the little band of Christians. Her husband had 
professed his faith in Christ some months before. 

I always remember the happy day when Yau- 
ting and his young friend, the teacher’s son, 
made a profession of their faith. Two lads they 
were, with the brightness of youth upon their faces; 
both were the sons of Christians, and it was a glad 
sight to see them putting on the armor. With 
full hearts we united with the little band of Chi- 
nese converts in praying that they might be kept 
faithful through life, even unto death. 

A year or so after, a little grandchild was born 
into the family. Christianity does not immediate- 
ly change and obliterate the habits and thoughts 
derived from generations of heathen ancestors, 
and it was a great disappointment to the family to 
receive into their midst a granddaughter instead 
of the longed-for grandson. But the little girl 
was tenderly loved and cared for. The day on 
which she was first brought to the church, in the 


206 home-life in china. 

arms of her delighted grandmother, seems to 
me, when I look back, almost the last season of 
great gladness which fell to the lot of the Fan 
family. Not that their daily life previously had 
been free from trials and persecutions. It is im- 
possible, at present, for Christians to live in Chi- 
na unmolested by their neighbors, who look upon 
them, if not with hatred, with suspicious fear. 
Taxes in aid of idolatrous ceremonies are con- 
stantly levied; and when the Christians refuse to 
contribute to such objects they have to endure 
many insults, if not attacks which endanger life 
and limb. 

At the grand idol festivals, which are held on 
frequent occasions throughout the year, the Chris- 
tians are marked men. Their attendance upon 
the Sabbath services makes them the butt not 
only of the laughter and ridicule, but of the scan- 
dals and evil-speaking, of the neighborhood in 
which they live. But these are only the common 
trials of all Chinese converts. 

How different in the foundation of its teaching 
is the religion of Jesus when compared with all 
heathen faiths ! “If you worship the gods, riches 
and honor and long life and prosperity shall at- 
tend you,” is the teaching of most false religions. 
“Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and 
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth,” is the 
testimony of the Word of God. 

And for the Fan family a time of trial which 


yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 207 

was to test their faith to the utmost was indeed at 
hand. The father became seriously ill, and day 
by day he grew weaker. The best native medi- 
cal advice was procured and many remedies tried, 
but without success. He was unwilling to leave 
his home and enter the English hospital which 
was on the other side of the Yang-tse River, but 
he thankfully received the foreign medicines pro- 
vided for him; and his family nursed him tender- 
ly, more in accordance with Western ideas than 
with Chinese plans for sick nursing. But the 
disease had taken too strong a hold upon him to 
be checked, and through the hot days of mid- 
summer he grew weaker and weaker, and at last 
passed quietly away to his rest. There was a 
look of such perfect peace upon the still face as it 
lay in the coffin that it was remarked with won- 
dering surprise by all the heathen neighbors, who 
had been invited in to take a last look and to as- 
sure themselves that the reports about taking out 
the eyes of dead Christians were quite unfounded. 
How strange it all seemed to them ! There was 
no wild tumult of weeping in the death-chamber, 
but amid the natural grief of widow and orphan 
was the hopeful looking forward to a glad meet- 
ing in a land beyond the grave. 

There was no burning of incense or paper 
money, no worship before the spirit -tablet, no 
calling in of priests to rid the house of evil spir- 
its. It was all perplexing beyond measure. 


208 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


The young Yau-ting had at once to take up 
his position as head of the Christian family, with 
all the trials and difficulties inseparably connect- 
ed with it. He was a lad of bright promise, with 
all his father’s charm of amiability and kindli- 
ness, and also a decision and strength of character 
which his father had never possessed. Was it 
wonderful that we expected great things of him ? 
Is it strange that we believe he is now engaged in 
a nobler service yonder ? 

For in the bright morning of his days the dis- 
ease which has called so many from the dear 
shores of our own land was sent as the messenger 
to call him home from the crowded Eastern city. 
He was attacked by consumption, and, although 
every care was lavished upon him and earnest 
prayers rose constantly on his behalf, it was not 
the will of the Father to spare him longer. We 
could see that he was slowly but surely failing. 
How happy he used to look at the services in the 
little Chinese chapel, for he attended them to the 
very last ! It was a touching group indeed: the 
widowed mother, the young wife, and the little 
daughter — and the hope of the family passing 
away from them for ever. 

It was on the 9th of February, 1882, that the 
summons came. He received it surrounded by a 
little band of Christian friends, who commended 
him into the hands of the Saviour he loved. u I 
know that Jesus is with me,” were some of his 


yau-ting; or, first-fruits gathered. 209 

last words. Then calling to his side his widowed 
mother, soon to be bereaved of her only son, he 
begged her not to grieve for him, but whatever 
trials she might have to endure — and his loving 
heart told him they would not be light or few — 
never under any circumstances to forsake Christ 
or give up her confidence in Him. Soon after his 
spirit passed away to the Saviour in whom he 
trusted. He was laid to rest in the burying- 
ground of our infant church. Just outside the 
eastern gate of the city, almost overshadowed by 
the grim walls of an ancient heathen temple, all 
that was mortal of Yau-ting lies sleeping till the 
resurrection morning. 

Prosperity and long life, say the heathen, is 
the lot of those who worship at the idol shrines; 
and even to our dim, earthly eyes it seems at 
times as if it would surely have been well that 
the young Christian should have been left to 
fight his Lord’s battles in the land where the sol- 
diers of Christ are so few. But God’s ways are 
not as our ways. He has called Yau-ting to the 
higher service above; his short, bright life is 
over, but the memory of it lives in many a heart 
that loved him. 


1 2 


Romp-Life in China. 


210 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER II. 

SHIN-KUJ OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 

In a village in the Han-chwan district, about 
ioo miles from the mart of Hankow, there lived 
some years ago a family of the name of Hu. 

The father was the possessor of a small piece 
of land which he cultivated himself, and he also 
followed the trade of a barber. This business is 
one which is held in no very high repute in 
China, although the people are more dependent 
than the men of other nations upon the services 
of that fraternity. Indeed, the followers of this 
calling, together with actors and mandarins’ at- 
tendants, are prohibited from competing in the 
great literary examinations, by means of which 
the son of the poorest peasant, if successful, may 
attain to the highest offices of State. 

Hu was a man of high rank, however, from a 
religious point of view, for he bore upon his head 
the marks of the ordination ceremony, which is 
performed upon lay brethren as well as those who 
have separated themselves from all secular affairs. 
And yet, strange paradox as it sounds to Christian 
ears, although his position as a follower of Buddha 
was so high, he was one of the worst characters in 
the village. He was a man of whom his neigh- 


SHIN-KU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 21 1 

bors stood in fear, and he was the leader in much 
that was evil. 

At last a preacher of the strange new faith of 
the foreigners, called the “Jesus religion,” came 
to this Hupeh village, and Hu, the reprobate, 
heard the glad tidings of One who died that sin- 
ners might have life. His heart was touched, 
and he sought and found forgiveness for his sin- 
stained past at the feet of Him who, in far-off 
Galilee, was known as “the Friend of publicans 
and sinners.” His whole life was altered; he for- 
sook his old evil habits, and his changed beha- 
vior was the talk of the country-side. He be- 
came anxious to unite himself publicly with the 
followers of Jesus, and in June, 1874, he was re- 
ceived into the church by baptism. 

Before this he had decided, to the great dismay 
of all his heathen friends, to destroy by burning 
what in their eyes was a most precious and sa- 
cred document. It was the certificate of his 
ordination, and was thought to represent so high 
a degree of merit that large sums of money could 
have been readily obtained for it. That their 
neighbor Hu should so recklessly forfeit all claim 
to this vast amount of accumulated merit seemed 
to these villagers an act not only of desecration 
but of foolish wastefulness. Yet it made them 
speculate curiously as to wherein lay the attrac- 
tion and power of this new religion which changed 
men’s lives and made them willing to endure 


212 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


persecution and loss rather than give up their 
faith — a faith too whose object seemed to be that 
unknown Western Sage, who, because he came 
from the West, must necessarily be inferior to any 
holy man who had been born within the bounda- 
ries of the great Celestial Empire. 

There was such a change in Hu’s household 
after he became a Christian that it was not won- 
derful to find his wife was attracted by it. She 
willingly listened while he told her of that Sa- 
viour who, strange as it sounds to Chinese ears, 
died for women as well as their husbands, and 
offers his salvation as freely to the daughters as to 
the sons of men. As she heard her heart was 
opened like Eydia’s, and she became a follower 
of Jesus also; and the little daughter of the house- 
hold found there was a message for her as well. 

u Shin-Ku,” or the “New daughter,” was the 
name she bore. I wish I could show you her 
portrait, but that has never yet been taken. Pic- 
ture, then, a bright-faced Chinese lassie with 
raven hair that used to be gathered up into a long 
thick plait, which hung down her back and was 
tied at the end with a bright scarlet cord. She 
wore a dress that never varied much, either in 
shape or color. It consisted of a little tunic of 
blue cotton, occasionally trimmed with pretty 
bands of silk ribbon, and pantalettes of the same 
material, ornamented in a similar way. Her 
dark eyes grew bright with interest as she listened 


SHIN-Ku; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 213 

I 

to the sweet story of the Saviour who placed his 
hands on little children’s heads and claimed them 
for his own. How different it was from the tales 
of the idols worshipped in Chinese temples which 
always filled her heart with fear and dread ! 

Shin-Ku always remembers that day in au- 
tumn when she left her quiet village home in 
company with her mother and aunt and some 
other friends, sailing down the swift waters of the 
Han till they reached the great city where some 
of their relatives resided. On they went for many 
a mile down the fine stream which comes from a 
distance of more than a thousand miles, flowing 
from the far northwest of the empire. For many 
a mile it twisted and wound its way through the 
great plain, which is only occasionally diversified 
by a low green hill or slope of rising ground. At 
last they reached the place where the swift Han 
discharges its waters into the grand Yang-tse- 
kiang, giving its name to the great commercial 
town of Hankow, or Han’s mouth. What a forest 
of masts there was at this junction of the two 
streams ! There were crafts of all kinds : fine 
junks with ornamental sterns, laden with the 
productions of far Sz-chwen, and others even 
more imposing, from the province Kiang-si; 
coal barges of rough build, intended to be bro- 
ken up when their voyage was over, filled with 
coal from the mines of Hunan. All these and 
many more were there. Then what strange- 


2i4 


HOME-EIFE IN CHINA. 


looking houses lined the river-bank ! They seemed 
to be standing on stilts. They were built on long 
piles driven into the bank, and when the Yang- 
tse rose and overflowed its banks in the summer 
season it seemed as if the city was running over 
into the river. But at the end of autumn, when 
the waters sank some forty feet or more, the ap- 
pearance presented was odd in the extreme. 

How busy were the streets of the city ! They 
were crowded from day to day with a busy throng, 
and among them were strangers from almost 
every one of the eighteen provinces. The shops 
were wonderful sights indeed, with all their grand 
display of outfitters’ stores and jewelry. The 
ladies’ tunics were lined with the costliest furs, 
and ornamented with braid of cloth of gold, and 
the sleeves were trimmed with strips of embroi- 
dery representing fairy landscapes, and birds and 
insects of gorgeous tints. Then there were the 
shoeshops. Was it possible that there were men 
who wore those slippers made of delicate silks 
and satins? Workers in gold and silver exhibited 
hair ornaments, ear-rings, and rings of strange 
magnificence. And the restaurants and cook- 
shops, did any one ever dream before of the won- 
derful delicacies there on sale? The village 
child was in a state of delighted bewilderment as 
she walked through the streets that seemed to her 
so strangely grand. But there was something 
else which interested her more than all beside, 


I 


SHIN-KU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 215 

and that was the Christian services which were 
held in the small Chinese chapel. It made her 
glad to be assured there were so many more of 
her people who were the servants of Jesus too. 
When the day of rest came round the little girl 
with her relatives joined the other Christians in 
their worship of the one living and true God. 

It was always a glad day in the country vil- 
lage when one or two Christian families met to- 
gether and strove, by study of the Word of God 
and communion, to help each other on in the 
way of life. But when Shin-Ku was taken to 
the Hankow chapel and saw the place crowded 
on the Sabbath morning with men and women 
who had professed their faith in Christ, when 
she heard them singing with heart and soul the 
praises of that Heavenly Father who gave his 
Son to save them, her heart overflowed with joy. 
Some people might have thought how small was 
the number of worshippers compared with the 
multitude of idolaters in that great city; some 
might have thought the sound of many untrained 
voices harsh and unmusical; but to Shin-Ku’s 
childish heart it was the house of God and the 
very gate of heaven. 

In December, 1876, she, with her mother and 
aunt, was received into the church by baptism; 
not in the central chapel of the great city, but 
in the smaller meeting-place of Hanyang, where 
her relatives then resided. Soon after the little 


2l6 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


party returned to the quiet village by the Han 
River, and the days in the busy town were re- 
membered as a pleasant dream. Not as a dream 
only; for the good seed which had been sown 
in her country home had been watered and quick- 
ened into vigorous life during that visit and was 
now bearing fruit. 

W hat a happy life she led, although quite 
uneventful ! In the bright summer days came 
the time of the cotton harvest, when most of the 
women and children of the village went out into 
the fields to pick the snow-white balls of down 
just peeping from the pods. Everybody enjoyed 
that time, from the small maiden of two or three 
summers, who liked to imitate her elders and fill 
her tiny tunic with the downy treasures, to the 
aged grand-dame bent with the weight of years, 
who was almost too old for work, but loved to 
sit in the pleasant sunshine and listen to the cheery 
gossip of the cotton-pickers. Shin-Ku enjoyed 
it too, although she had frequently to bear many 
unkind slights from her neighbors. They often 
called her and her friends by unkind names, for 
they were angry because, instead of worshipping 
at the idol shrines, they loved and reverenced 
One whose very name the people hated. For those 
who love darkness rather than light have associ- 
ated the name of Jesus in China with fearful sto- 
ries of deeds of violence, and terrible atrocities 
which exist only in their imaginations. No won- 


SHIN-KU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 21 J 

der the unlearned country people are terrified at 
the thought of any one connected with them em- 
bracing this mysterious faith. “They know 
not what they do,” was our Lord’s compassion- 
ate verdict upon the maddened crowd which called 
out, “Crucify him !” in the streets of Jerusalem. 
Are not the same pitiful words repeated even now 
when he sees the great multitude of the inhabi- 
tants of the world he died for wandering in dark- 
ness, and oftentimes, when they catch the first 
glimmer of the glorious light, rejecting and turn- 
ing away from it? 

Besides the cotton-picking there were many 
other little duties which kept Shin-Ku’s small 
hands busily employed. Many silk-worms were 
reared in the village, and the little girl had charge 
of the busy workers which belonged to her father 
and mother. She used to feed them with the fresh- 
plucked mulberry leaves, and tend them with un- 
wearying care till the time came when they re- 
quired food no longer. What a pretty sight it 
was, then, to see the large trays gradually filled 
with the soft glossy balls of a light golden color 
which seemed to take the place of her small 
charges ! 

Shin-Ku’s life had been, on the whole, a very 
bright one, but a great sorrow was now threaten- 
ing to overshadow it. Her loving mother, who 
had trained her with tender care, and made the 
religion she loved attractive to those who came 


2i8 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


in contact with her, began to fail in health and 
before long became seriously ill. Very soon she 
was called away from this world. 

She left her lowly peasant home without fear, 
for she knew that she was going to a land far 
brighter and to a Friend far dearer than even 
those she left behind. Only one thought dis- 
turbed her, and that was the uncertainty of her 
little daughter’s future. For in the days that 
were gone by, before they had heard of the reli- 
gion of Jesus, they had betrothed Shin-Ku to the 
son of a heathen neighbor. These Chinese be- 
trothals are as binding as a marriage, and the pa- 
rents’ hearts failed them as they thought of their 
little daughter at some future day becoming a 
member of a heathen family, being forced to bow 
down before the family shrines and worship in 
the temples. This had hitherto appeared as a 
distant fear, coming nearer it was true, but still 
far off. But now that her mother was dead, noth- 
ing was more likely than a request from the fam- 
ily to which she was promised that she should at 
once be given up to their protection. 

The father, in dismay, sent up to the provin- 
cial city of Wuchang, w r here his brother was then 
living, and entreated him to try and see if some 
arrangement could not be made to keep Shin-Ku 
in a Christian home till she was some years older, 
and stronger to face the opposition and persecu- 
tion she would certainly have to encounter in her 


SHIN-KU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 2ig 

new home. This brother was a most earnest 
Christian man, but poor in this world’s goods. 
He might have been in easy circumstances had 
conscience allowed him to continue the old prac- 
tices of his heathen life. He came to the Mission 
House at this time to consult us about the mat- 
ter. Very gladly I consented to take charge of 
the little motherless girl and allow her to attend 
our day-school in the city. But before this ar- 
rangement could be ratified by her father a kind- 
ly aunt who lived in the same village had offered 
to undertake the care of her young niece. It was 
the same aunt who on that long- to-be-remem- 
bered Sabbath day had received baptism together 
with Shin-Ku and her dear, dead mother. No 
wonder that the child’s heart clung to her and 
that she was happy in her home. 

There were few exciting incidents in the life 
of the country village, so it was not strange that 
the visits of the foreign missionary were great 
events in the life of the Hu family. The father 
used to set aside all business matters and give up 
his whole time to accompanying the pastor and 
assisting him in preaching the glad news, not 
only in his own, but in many neighboring villa- 
ges. As a rule a kindly reception was given to 
them in every place; stools were brought out of 
the cottages for their use, and tea was offered, as 
they talked to the curious crowds which followed 
wherever they went of Jesus and his dying love 


220 


IIOME-UFE IN CHINA. 


for men. As evening came on the little band of 
Christians, which was gradually increasing in the 
village, gathered in the house of Shin-Ku’s fa- 
ther. As one and another told of how, though 
persecuted and despised for the dear Cord’s sake, 
they had been blessed and strengthened in the 
Christian life, it made the heart of the pastor 
glad, and he thanked God and took courage. On 
one occasion, while the Christians held commu- 
nion together, a crowd had gathered outside the 
house. Some of them were noisy and bent upon 
making a disturbance, but others were anxious 
to learn something of the new doctrine. From 
dark till nearly midnight the Christians and the 
pastor answered questions and explained difficul- 
ties, till at last only a few inquirers remained. 

The visitors had to be on board their boat that 
night, and so must say farewell to these few sheep 
in the wilderness. Shin-Ku’s aunt had pressed 
upon the teachers a basket of her finest country 
eggs, and the little girl begged with tears to be 
allowed to accompany them to the river- side. 
But it was very late, and the boat more than a 
mile distant, so the good-bys had to be said in 
her father’s house, notwithstanding the little 
girl’s tears and entreaties. 

Though still young, Shin-Ku was felt by each 
member of that little company of believers to be 
a true Christian, with the “warm heart” by 
which they expressively describe those who are 










































SHIN-KU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 223 

earnest in their faith. It filled the father’s heart 
with joy to see his little daughter following so 
closely in the footsteps of her dead mother; but 
whenever a thought of her betrothal came into 
his mind he was filled with anxious care and per- 
plexity. After careful investigation it was found 
that some trivial formality had been omitted in 
drawing out the deeds of betrothal, and he 
thought that it was possible the family to which 
she was promised might be persuaded to give up 
a daughter-in-law who belonged to the despised 
sect of the Christians. He decided at any rate to 
make the proposal and try to get the matter ar- 
ranged by mutual consent. But his hopes were 
not to be realized. He found the lad’s family de- 
termined that the betrothal should be considered 
binding. His heart failed him, but he told them 
he must insist upon the insertion of an additional 
clause in the marriage contract. His daughter 
was a Christian, and she must be allowed free- 
dom to worship in peace the God she served. 
They knew she belonged to the “Jesus sect,” 
and yet they were determined she should become 
a member of their family. Therefore, if they 
failed to keep their part of the contract, and per- 
secuted and ill-treated the child after her mar- 
riage, he should consider he was at liberty to re- 
claim her. The heart of the father was only 
partially relieved by the protestations and prom- 
ises of the family, but he could do no more, and 


224 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


could only leave the future in God’s hands. He 
felt that at best his little daughter would have a 
thorny path to tread, and could only pray that 
she might receive strength to continue faithful, 
and win, by her gentleness and love, those around 
her to Christ. 

Not long after this the Christians of the vil- 
lage in which Shin-Ku lived determined to try 
and do what they could to help their friends in 
the city who were under the necessity of rebuild- 
ing their chapel, which had been blown down by 
a violent storm. The girl heard their conversa- 
tion and saw the strings of cash or the few copper 
coins being brought out as offerings. “ Cannot I 
do something?” she asked herself. “I, who 
have received so much, cannot I do a little to 
help to build the house of God?” Quietly she 
withdrew to her own little room, and there bend- 
ing over the box which contained all her girlish 
treasures, she drew from the very bottom a small 
string of cash, only a hundred or so in all, and 
amounting to not much more than sixpence in 
English money, but all that Shin-Ku possessed. 
Nearly every coin had a history. Here was one 
of a special reign, which had been given to her 
as a keepsake when cash was being counted and 
strung; here another she had received from a 
neighbor for some piece of work she had done. 
She carried the little string of coins into the next 
room with such a happy look upon her face ! 


SHIN-KU; OR, THE NEW DAUGHTER. 225 

When she put her little offering upon the table 
with the other subscriptions every heart was 
touched. 

“No, we will not take your money, child. It 
is all you have; we cannot take that.” 

Shin-Ku’s face clouded with sorrow and dis- 
may. Would her Lord then reject the gift offered 
with her heart full of gratitude and love ! No, 
he would not refuse it; and seeing how her heart 
was set upon making this offering, the Christians 
consented to take it. And of all those gifts, the 
fruit of much self-denial, none, I think, would 
win a warmer commendation from Him who said 
of old of a similar offering, “ She hath done what 
she could,” than Shin-Ku’s gift of love. 

I cannot finish this story for you, because 
Shin-Ku’s life is not finished yet. She lives still 
in the quiet Chinese village, striving in her hum- 
ble way to live the Christian life amid many diffi- 
culties and trials. 

Do you wish to show your sympathy with her 
and to help her? Then you can pray for her, 
and the prayers that girls in happy Christian 
homes send up on her behalf will be to her, 
although she may never know it, a power to make 
her stronger to live the life of Christ and let her 
light shine amid the darkness around her. 


226 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER III. 

CHIH SHWIN; OR, THE MANDARIN’S LITTLE 

PAGE. 

I had often noticed Chih Shwin’s bright black 
eyes and intelligent face as he sat on a bench quite 
near to me during the Sabbath services. I had 
not been very long in China then; but the Chi- 
nese faces, which to any one fresh from home 
seem to look so very much alike, were beginning 
to appear as distinct and different to me as the 
faces of friends in dear old England; and, as I said 
before, Chih Shwin’s was a pleasant face, and I 
was attracted to it from the first. I felt a great 
interest in him too for his father’s sake — his good 
father, who was one of the most self-sacrificing 
Christians I ever knew, either in China or in any 
other land. He was a man who had been very 
clever at the numerous games of chance which 
are so common in China, and because he was an 
adept at card-playing, could often earn large sums 
of money by giving his advice to players. Wan- 
dering along the streets one day, with his basket 
filled with cases containing tapes, silks, and other 
small wares, he strolled out of curiosity into the 
preaching-hall situated upon one of the busiest 
streets. There he heard the wonderful story of a 


chih shwin; or, the little page. 227 

Saviour who came ‘ c not to call the righteous, but 
sinners, to repentance. ’ ’ The message which came 
to him that afternoon filled his thoughts and gave 
him no rest till he had heard more of so strange a 
faith. In the end he gave his heart to Christ, and 
every one wondered to see how the new faith could 
so entirely alter a man’s life and habits. 

After this he seemed to live only to tell others 
the good news that had made him glad. He was 
in poor circumstances, but was never tempted to 
use the day of rest for his business. When the 
missionary was going on a preaching trip into the 
country districts, Chih Shwin’ s father would often 
ask to be allowed to accompany him, that he might 
have the opportunity of telling his countrymen 
who had never heard it the glad news. He always 
refused to accept any payment for the time lost 
from his business. At last he was attacked by 
consumption, and to the end he tried to support 
himself and his family by making fancy articles 
of leather-work. If any one among the Chinese 
Christians was in trouble or had sorrow of any 
kind, he would come to Hu in his sick-room for 
help and comfort. He passed away to his rest in 
great joy and peace, leaving the memory of his 
bright example as a precious legacy to the little 
church in Wuchang. 

But I wish to tell you about the son of this 
good father, and how I was first led to take a spe- 
cial interest in him. One summer Sunday after- 

13 


Home-Life in China. 


228 


HOME-LIKE IN CHINA. 


noon, when I had been in Wuchang for about a 
year, the afternoon sendee being over, I was sit- 
ting waiting till Mr. Bryson should have finished 
answering the questions of some of the congrega- 
tion who wished to speak to him. My little friend 
Chih Shwin came into the room and began to 
talk to me. Now it happened that I had in my 
pocket a small tract or leaflet which had been 
written by one of the Chinese Christians. It w T as 
in simple ballad form, like many of the songs 
which the Chinese like to hear. Instead, how- 
ever, of some foolish tale of the strange doings of 
the gods, or some sentimental love story, it told 
of a Babe which had a manger for a cradle, but at 
whose birth heavenly strangers sang sweet songs 
of peace and joy to all men. It went through the 
whole of the wonderful history in graphic, simple 
rhymes. The characters in which the verses were 
written were easy to read, and I asked my little 
friend to go over them with me. He tried to do 
so, but stumbled over many words and looked so 
much confused that a coolie who was peering 
curiously in at the door laughed aloud. “You 
pretend to read!” he exclaimed. “Why, boy, 
you hardly know a word!” Poor Chih Shwin 
looked quite abashed — for Chinese boys are as 
vexed at being laughed at as American children. 

“How I wish I could learn to read better!” 
exclaimed the lad. “Some time ago I used to 
come regularly to the school Mr. Bryson carried 


CHIH shwin; or, the little page. 229 

on here. Then he went back to England, and it 
was closed. There is no Christian school I can 
go to now, and father says I shall not go to the 
other schools where the boys must worship Confu- 
cius and the god of literature. How I wish we 
had a Christian school opened here again. ’ ’ 

I wished that too nearly as much as Chili 
Shwin, but there was just one obstacle in the 
way. You cannot open a school either in Eng- 
land or China without some money to pay the 
teacher and buy stools, desks, books, writing mate- 
rials, and other necessary things; and where was 
the money to come from? We thought about the 
matter a good deal, and prayed about it; at last 
a letter came from a Sunday-school in a town far 
off in England. It said that the children of the 
church of which John Bunyan was once pastor 
had sent me some money which they had collect- 
ed and wished to be used in teaching Chinese 
children. How glad the boys and girls were 
when I told them, and particularly some of the 
older Christians, who knew something of Bunyan 
and his wonderful pilgrim ! The “ Pilgrim’s 
Progress” has been translated into Chinese, and 
Christian appears in the dress of a Chinaman in 
the illustrations, with pig-tail and flowing robes. 
With this contribution we commenced our school, 
and though often we had very little money to 
carry it on, the gifts of friends have enabled us to 
keep it open ever since. 


230 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


Chih Shwin was of course one of our first 
scholars, and we were much pleased with the 
rapid progress he made in all his studies. You 
would have been amused to hear him as he 
u backed the book” and repeated page after page 
of his Catechism, or the Boy’s Classic, and chap- 
ter after chapter of the Bible. He continued to 
attend school for some time, till at last his father’s 
serious illness made it necessary for him to do 
something for his own support. A sympathizing 
friend w T ho had some influence in the yamen, or 
official residence of the Futai or mandarin, ob- 
tained for him the situation of page-boy there. 
So Chih Shwin left school, and was at once thrown 
into the midst of a number of men who hated the 
religion of Jesus and were always inventing wick- 
ed tales about the Christians. He carried with 
him in his little box his school Bible. Sometimes 
he used to feel tempted to keep the sacred book 
hidden away, fearing lest the other servants might 
see him reading it and take it away from him. 
Then he remembered all he had learned at school 
as well as the wise counsels of his Christian father, 
and determined that, although he was only a very 
young soldier, he would not be ashamed of his 
colors. He prayed for help, and God gave him 
strength to be faithful. In his own little room, 
when the day’s work was over, Chih Shwin might 
have been seen poring over his book quite alone; 
and for some time no one knew anything about it. 


chih shwin; or, the: little page. 231 

But the mandarin, his master, one evening 
suddenly opened Chih Shwin’ s door, and there he 
saw the boy, by the dim light of the flickering 
lamp, bending over his book intently reading one 
of the beautiful Scripture stories. 

The boy was discovered at last, and he ex- 
pected nothing less than dismissal from the man- 
darin’s service when he discovered that he was 
connected with the despised sect of the Christians. 
It was with a fearful heart that Chih Shwin placed 
his Bible in the official’s hand, which was held 
out to receive it. The Futai turned leisurely over 
the pages, reading a passage here and there. Ap- 
parently the verses which caught his eye were 
such as met with his approval, for after a time he 
returned the volume to the lad with the remark, 

‘ 1 1 have heard strange stories of that book, but 
do not notice any evil teachings in it; you can 
keep it if you like.” Chih Shwin felt as if a 
great load had been lifted from his heart as his 
master left his room, and his faith was stronger 
than ever in the God who was able to protect him 
in the mandarin’s mansion, just as He had pre- 
served the little Israelitish girl long ago in the 
home of the Syrian general. Not long after this 
the Futai’s mother died, and, according to Chi- 
nese custom, he was obliged to retire from office 
and return to his native city, there for about three 
years to mourn her loss. 

The mandarin had become attached to his 


232 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


little Christian page, and asked Chih Shwin to ac- 
company him to the far-away province of Kiang- 
Su. So the lad went, and remained with his 
master for about a year, till hearing of the serious 
illness of his father, he gave up his situation, and 
came the long journey up the great Yang-tse- 
kiang, that he might see him once more before 
he died. 

After his return to Wuchang he was taken 
into the service of an American missionary, who 
allowed him to come regularly to his old class in 
the Sunday-school. His master was much pleased 
with the lad’s industry and attention to his duties. 
After Chih Shwin had been with him for some 
little time he felt anxious that a boy so bright 
and intelligent, who was also a Christian, should 
have greater advantages in the way of education, 
so that in the future he might be able to teach 
and preach the gospel to his own countrymen. 
So Chih Shwin, through his master’s influence, 
was admitted into a training college in Shanghai, 
where many young men are being educated for 
the Christian ministry. He has been there for 
some years now and in time to come the God 
whom he served in the mandarin’s yamen will 
strengthen and bless him when he stands up to 
proclaim the glad tidings of salvation through 
Jesus to those who have never heard it before. 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 


233 


CHAPTER IV. 

BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED; OR, THE STORY OF 
A CHINESE SCHOOLGIRL. 

IT was autumn in the Yang-tse valley, that 
fairest season of all the year in the far land of 
China, welcomed as joyously as the spring in 
more temperate latitudes. Fanned by cool, re- 
freshing breezes, the parched plains seem to revive 
after the fierce heat of the long summer days. 
Brilliant, many-tinted flowers spring up luxuriant- 
ly in every tiny bamboo-fenced garden-plot. Gor- 
geous coxcombs of stately height mingle with 
sturdy sunflowers, whose seeds are used so plenti- 
fully in Chinese confectionery. The promegran- 
ate’s scarlet blossoms shine out like stars among 
its glossy foliage, and the fragrant olive perfumes 
the air. Chrysanthemums of a size and variety 
of tint rarely attained in England delight the 
gardener’s heart. 

It was at this fairest season of all the year that, 
some time ago, in a market town some twenty 
miles away from the banks of the great river, a 
little girl was born. There was not much rejoi- 
cing when the news was announced, even though 
the baby was the first child of the family. In- 
deed, I think the parents thought that circum- 


234 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


stance only made matters worse. To have no 
son was trial enough, but to have instead a use- 
less, unwelcome girl made their position indeed 
pitiable. But the mother’s heart rebelled against 
the thought of drowning the baby girl in a bucket, 
which was quite customary with her neighbors 
when a child came which they did not want, and 
somehow she managed to persuade her husband 
to keep it. It was wonderful how fond she be- 
came of the little one. I believe it was soon al- 
most as dear as if it had been a boy. Before long 
a name had to be selected for it, and as no one 
would think of spending much time upon choos- 
ing a girl’s name, they called the baby “Nine,” 
because she was born on the ninth day of the 
ninth month. This may seem very strange to 
you, but in China it is quite customary to give 
children names in this way. 

Some people think that we are influenced a 
good deal by the surroundings of our earlier days. 
Little Nine’s were simple and plain enough, 
poverty-stricken perhaps you would have called 
them. But people do not trouble much about 
comfortable houses in China. Even the rich 
know nothing of what we call the comforts of 
home, and little Nine’s parents were by no 
means wealthy. The floor of their cottage was 
literally a ground floor, for it was made of beaten 
earth; they had only one or two windows in the 
whole house, for it was considered very unwise to 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 235 

have more openings than were absolutely neces- 
sary, lest evil spirits should be inclined to enter 
by them. Over each of the windows they had a 
little piece of red paper pasted, with the words 
“Gen. Chang Tai-kung lives here.” This notice 
was put out for the benefit of the spirits, who are 
supposed to be frightened at the very name of 
this general, who was a famous warrior of past 
ages. The walls of the cottage were festooned 
with cobwebs, and were very grim and dusty- 
looking. It was out of the question, however, to 
have them whitewashed, for white was the color 
of mourning, and the first thing they might ex- 
pect after such an operation would be a death in 
the family. 

But though you would not have thought little 
Nine’s home a very attractive one, I think you 
would all agree that the market town in which 
she lived was situated in a very lovely part of the 
country, and that out of doors everything looked 
bright and beautiful. The little town nestled at 
the foot of a lofty range of hills, some of which 
were crowned with dark Coronals of fir-trees. 
The highest of all was a lofty peak, with three 
temples placed at intervals on its slopes, called 
the first, second, and third heavens, the last- 
mentioned being quite at the summit. These 
hills looked down upon a vale of beauty — a fruit- 
ful land, brought into a high state of cultivation 
by the labor of the husbandman. Small squares 


236 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


of many-colored crops show that the land is di- 
vided into minute portions, for there are few large 
farms in China. Here are the light green leaves 
of the cotton plant adorned with its snow-white 
balls, the drooping ears of rice, and the broad 
leaves of the tobacco plant and sugar-cane. There 
are the feathery plumes of the graceful millet, 
growing to a height of ten feet, and the beautiful 
maize, its seeds gleaming like closely-threaded 
pearls, surmounted with purple flossy tassels fine 
as silk. Trees were more abundant in this neigh- 
borhood than in many parts of China; graceful 
bamboos make many a shady grove, stiff dwarf 
palms spring up on every hand, and tallow and 
camphor trees grow luxuriantly. The low hill- 
sides are clothed with a growth of pine and maple 
whose rich colors shine out gorgeously in the fair 
autumn sunshine. 

These were the scenes among which little 
Nine lived, growing strong and flourishing in the 
fine healthy country air. In winter she wore tiny 
wadded garments; but in summer there was not 
much difficulty about her wardrobe, because so 
little clothing is needed in the long hot days. 
Sometimes her mother would place her in a sort 
of half-barrel with a stool inside it, leaving her 
there to play alone for hours together. At other 
times she would creep and tumble about the earth- 
en floor till she looked a very brown baby indeed. 
So she passed on from babyhood to childhood, 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 237 

and was soon taught to help her mother in cook- 
ing the rice and vegetables for the family. She 
learned also to spin and weave the snow-white 
cotton which had been gathered from the fields. 
Her life was not by any means an unhappy one, 
and she knew nothing of sickness till she was 
about six years of age. Then her mother began 
to bind her feet, and she often felt worn out with 
the pain the tight bandages caused. At last the 
pain was succeeded by a dull numbness, and Nine 
was discovered to be the possessor of feet so small 
that they were the envy of all the girls of her 
acquaintance. 

It was about this time that the people of the 
town in which Nine lived were greatly -excited 
by the arrival in their midst of a strange “outside 
barbarian,” as they called him. What an ex- 
traordinary-looking being he was, to be sure ! His 
hair grew all over his head and was cut rather 
short instead of being nicely shaved off the fore- 
head and braided into a neat queue, hanging for 
a yard or more down his back. And as for his 
garments, it was certain that cloth was extremely 
dear in his country, or he would never have made 
such a ridiculous figure of himself by cutting his 
clothes almost close to his figure, instead of hav- 
ing loose graceful robes, which everybody knew 
were the proper garments for men to wear. He 
wore a large wide-brimmed hat; doubtless that 
was to hide his unshaven forehead; and his boots 


23S HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

were actually made of black leather, soles and all, 
instead of being white like other people’s ! Alto- 
gether this new arrival was such a strange-looking 
character that it was no wonder the children ran 
after him in crowds, and even the grown-up peo- 
ple felt compelled to take a closer look at a being 
so queerly attired. The boys would shout out 
“Foreign evil spirit,” and several other bad 
names after him; and the mothers would some- 
times reprove them, boxing their ears for such 
rudeness. But privately you might have heard 
them informing their neighbors that really, when 
people made such frights of themselves, and 
dressed in the extraordinary fashion of these outer 
barbarians, they could not expect children to be 
respectful. 

The people had many opportunities of watch- 
ing the stranger, for he rented a house in their 
midst and settled down there. They were never 
tired of crowding round the dwelling and listen- 
ing for any strange sounds that might come from 
it, watching most carefully the while every move- 
ment of the foreign teacher. 

They had plenty of opportunities of doing 
this, since the missionary had turned the front 
room of his house into a preaching-hall and 
might be seen there every day talking about the 
new “Jesus religion” he had come to teach 
them. Many people were constantly there, list- 
ening as he talked, for the strange stories told 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 239 

about him made them curious. Some said lie 
had come to kidnap and carry off their children; 
others that he wanted to gain converts to the new 
faith in order that he might extract their eyes 
and make them up into the wonderfully-effica- 
cious foreign medicines. Not a few were con- 
vinced that he had been sent by the ruler of his 
own land to win the people over and prepare the 
way for the conquest of China, which he doubt- 
less wished to possess, since he had conquered the 
great western land near to them. 

Others believed that because the missionary 
now and then took walks in the surrounding 
country he was seeking for some vast treasure of 
priceless value hidden away beneath the soil of 
their hills and vales. “For,” said they, “these 
foreigners are not like ourselves; their strange, 
light eyes can pierce far down beneath the earth 
or water and see the wondrous treasures which lie 
hidden there.” It was true that the stranger was 
seeking for treasures of priceless worth, for you 
know the Bible says, “What is a man profited if 
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own 
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for 
his soul?” 

After a time, when he had been teaching and 
preaching patiently for many months, the people 
began to understand a little better his motives in 
coming to their country. As in days of old, some 
hearts were opened by the Ford and became low- 


240 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


ly followers and simple believers in the Lord Je- 
sus Christ. A few there were too who, seeing the 
foreign pastor was charitable and had a heart to 
feel for those who were in trouble, thought it 
might benefit them in some way to join the new 
religion. There were people like these living 
in St. Paul’s time; there are persons not very 
unlike them to be found in Christian lands to- 
day. 

Little Nine’s father was, I fear, one of these 
people, for he used to listen most attentively to 
the preaching in the chapel and professed to have 
become a Christian. After a time he was received 
as a member of the church ; and his little daugh- 
ter w r as henceforth known as Happy Nine. The 
mother did not seem to become much happier, not- 
withstanding the change that had come over the 
family; perhaps the reason was that there was lit- 
tle reality in it. She found it hard to endure the 
jeers and reproaches of her neighbors because her 
husband had forsaken his ancestors, as they call 
it, and one day, in a fit of gloom, she took a 
strong dose of opium, thus putting an end to her 
life, and Happy Nine was left motherless. 

As the weeks passed by her father was much 
perplexed about his child’s future. It was diffi- 
cult for a girl so young to be kept at home with 
no one in charge of her, and he had no female rel- 
ative to whom it was convenient to send her. 
One day the missionary suggested that the child 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 24.I 

might be sent to a boarding-school for girls which 
some ladies had established at a city not far dis- 
tant. She was at this time about nine years of 
age, and her father, after some consideration, 
agreed to the proposition. Happy Nine was re- 
ceived into the school and found there many girl- 
ish companions of various ages. She was in- 
structed with them in all household duties, while, 
in addition, she learned to make her own clothing, 
to read and write, and keep accounts. She was 
a bright little lassie, quick and clever, with a 
wonderful memory, and often during the vacation 
at the New Year’s season, or in the days of sum- 
mer, on her return to her home, she used to cheer 
the missionary’s heart by singing to him the 
hymns she had learned at school. It seemed as 
if she had quite left behind her the old life of 
ignorance and superstition. 

And yet, though bright and quick when learn- 
ing in competition with others, she was not natu- 
rally an active girl. She loved to sit dreamily, 
with her hands clasped before her, careless of the 
ordinary routine of work or lessons, quite regard- 
less of the flight of time. It seemed as if her nat- 
ural character was one which would be moulded 
more or less by her surroundings and companions. 
With good influences all around her she chose to 
be good. Would she, when trials came, be over- 
come, too weak to battle for the right ? 

When Happy Nine had reached her thirteenth 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


242 

year one day a messenger came to the school 
bringing news of the death of the boy to whom 
she was betrothed. She knew little but the name 
of the lad, and her teachers were somewhat sur- 
prised to see how deep was her sorrow and how 
violently she wept for many hours. Very soon 
they discovered that her grief was not so much 
for the dead as for the additional news the mes- 
senger had brought. Her father had hastily be- 
trothed her to another lad, the son of some people 
who kept an opium-den. They were willing to 
pay a considerable sum of money for a bright girl 
like Happy Nine, and had consented also to take 
upon themselves the maintenance of her father. 
Notwithstanding the low estimation in which the 
owners of such resorts are held in China, the old 
man felt it difficult to reject the tempting bribe. 
But Happy Nine felt the degradation deeply and 
foresaw the miserable life that lay before her if 
her father’s plans w r ere carried out. Not long 
after, when he came to see her, she begged him 
so earnestly to delay completing the betrothal 
that, although the cards had already been ex- 
changed and a feast given to celebrate the occa- 
sion, he promised that he would not against her 
wish conclude the bargain with that family, and 
she must cease to fret about it. 

No one believed Happy Nine’s father but the 
girl herself, for every one knows the binding na- 
ture of betrothals in China. It was, however, 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 


243 


afterwards discovered that there had indeed been 
a rupture between the two families, since the 
keepers of the opium-den, whose name was Lin, 
had refused to carry out their part of the contract, 
having declined to support the old man when 
they found how extravagant were his habits. 
Matters were in. this unsettled condition for some 
time, and then Happy Nine’s father, being anx- 
ious to arrange another betrothal for her, tried to 
settle the affair with the Lin family in an amica- 
ble manner. He offered to refund the expense of 
the betrothal feast if they would return the pa- 
pers, seeing that they refused to carry out the 
contract in full. But, hoping by delaying the 
settlement of the business to obtain in the end a 
larger sum, they refused to come to any agree- 
ment with him. During this year of trouble 
Happy Nine appeared to grow more thoughtful 
than before, and one day asked permission to sit 
down with the other Christians at the table of 
their Lord. 

She was old enough to be a teacher now, and 
her father, finding that his schemes for money- 
making in connection with his child’s betrothal 
were by no means prospering, consented to her 
remaining in the school three years longer, on 
condition that the little money she earned should 
be given up to him. But the Lin family never 
relinquished the hope of finally obtaining posses- 
sion of the girl. 


14 


244 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


One day an aged man came to the school who 
looked as if he had travelled far in hot haste, and 
he told a sad story. Happy Nine’s father was 
dying, he said, and longed to see his child before 
he passed away. She must get ready at once and 
immediately accompany the messenger to hex 
home. There was something suspicious about 
the man’s behavior, and Happy Nine, feeling 
afraid, declined to go with him. It was well she 
did, for it was soon discovered that the old man 
was in the pay of the Tin family, and had been 
instructed to decoy the girl away and carry her 
off to them. 

Not long after this Happy Nine’s father was 
in reality taken ill and died very suddenly. The 
Tin family felt that now their prize was secure, 
since it would be an easy matter to overcome a 
young girl’s distaste for such a marriage. Old 
Mrs. Tin came herself to the school and painted 
a glowing picture of the life of ease and pleasure 
Happy Nine would lead when once she became 
her son’s wife. She should have beautiful robes in 
abundance and servants to wait upon her, and the 
elderly dame looked scornfully at the plain school- 
dress of blue cotton. But the young girl stood 
firm, and because she knew there could be no 
peace or happiness in a home which was also an 
opium-den, she decidedly refused the old lady’s 
offer. 

More than a year passed by, and Happy Nine’s 


BRIGHT HOPES CLOUDED. 245 

Christian friends were rejoicing in the hope that 
most of her troubles were past. It was true that 
secret messages had been sent by the Lin family 
and letters conveyed to the girl in many ways 
which it was difficult to detect ; but she always 
confided in her teachers, and they were hopeful 
that the family’s patience was wearing out. Yet 
once again old Mrs. Lin came to the school, accom- 
panied by several of Happy Nine’s early friends. 
She renewed her offer of a life of imaginary ease 
and pleasure. Was Happy Nine weary of the 
quiet routine of school-life, not altogether unwill- 
ing for some entire change in her surroundings? 
I only know that in this last hour of strong temp- 
tation, when her friends were rejoicing in her vic- 
tory, she suddenly consented to admit her knowl- 
edge of the betrothal, which was the point upon 
which they were concerned. Without loss of time 
she was hurried away to a mandarin’s office and 
made to repeat her admission there. 

Then, taking off the simple school dress she 
wore, they dressed her in silks and satins and 
carried her off in a sedan-chair. 

Poor Happy Nine ! Sorrowful Nine rather, 
for doubtless she has often since bitterly regretted 
that in the hour of temptation she so sadly yielded. 
A sad blight seems to have fallen on a life bright 
with promise. We can but pray God to keep her 
amid the evil that surrounds her ; though in the 
midst of it, may she not be of it ! Not long ago, 


246 


home-life in china. 


on a quiet Sunday afternoon, a girlish face, weary 
and sad, was seen among the worshippers in the 
Christian chapel of the Chinese town of which I 
have spoken. It was Happy Nine, who, with a 
companion, had managed to come again to hear 
the blessed teaching to which she had once loved 
to listen in the happy school-days now past for 
ever. Was she finding out for herself the blessed 
truth that u God is a refuge and strength, a very 
present help in trouble,” even when we ourselves 
have helped to make the trouble? We pray that 
it may be so, and because we pray we hope. 


CHWIN-E; OR, THE FADED FLOWER. 247 


CHAPTER V. 

CHWIN-E; OR, THE FLOWER THAT FADED. 

I can close my eyes and see her face quite dis- 
tinctly now. It was a gentle, lovable little face, 
with a bright, attractive smile. She used to wear 
her thick dark hair braided into a long heavy 
plait, which hung down her back. It was usu- 
ally adorned with some bright-colored fragrant 
flower, while, according to Chinese custom, her 
skin was plentifully dusted with white powder, 
and a slight touch of crimson dye was often seen 
upon her lips. She was the only daughter of the 
family to which she belonged. They were in 
very comfortable circumstances, and I think 
Chwin-E was dearer to them than many Chinese 
girls are to their parents. Her father was a Chris- 
tian and very anxious about his little girl’s train- 
ing, so he allowed her to come for some time to 
our school. She was rather a delicate child and 
her place in the class was often vacant. 

“Where is Chwin-E?” I used to inquire of 
the teacher, when upon entering the schoolroom 
I missed her pleasant smile and the little hand 
that was always slipped so trustfully into mine. 

“ Ping-lian,” or “She is sick,” was the an- 


24S 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


swer I frequently received. Y et though her health 
was by no means robust, Chwin-E was in one 
respect more fortunate than the Chinese girls of 
her acquaintance. Her small feet had never been 
put out of shape with long cotton bandages, for 
her father considered the custom so foolish that he 
determined his little daughter should never have 
to submit to it. So she was able to trip along 
like any American girl; and though the children 
of the neighbors would often make great fun of 
her, laughing and pointing at her unbound feet, 
which, they said, were most dieadful-looking for 
a girl and just like a boy’s, I think they were 
sometimes inclined to envy her when they saw 
how easily she could move along. 

Time passed by and we began to hope that 
Chwin-E would grow stronger. She rarely won 
any of the little prizes of illustrated books or pic- 
tures which were given to the children who re- 
peated correctly their chapters and hymns, but 
she was attentive and painstaking, and never so 
happy as when she succeeded in winning the ap- 
proval of her teacher. But a day came that was 
sad indeed for little Chwin-E, when her father 
was suddenly taken away by death. After the 
days of mourning were passed away the neighbor- 
ing women used to call in and see our little schol- 
ar’s mother, advising her as to what they con- 
sidered her duty. They were all agreed that she 
had been most neglectful of her child's interest, 


chwin-e; or, the faded flower. 249 

and painted in vivid language the sad future which 
they believed awaited her. 

“ The very idea of allowing a girl to have feet 
of which any beggar might well be ashamed!” 
“Why, they were enough to ruin any girl’s 
prospects in life; she would be fit for nothing but 
a slave-girl. ’ ’ 

Such was the unanimous verdict of the gos- 
sips of the place. 

Chwin-E’s mother was, unfortunately, one of 
those people who cannot bear to sink in the esti- 
mation of their neighbors, notwithstanding that 
the course they are taking is the right one. It 
seemed very hard to her that she should be blamed 
for submitting to the will of her dead husband. 
“ If only they had been bound when she was lit- 
tle,” she used to say, u all would have been well; 
but now, I fear, she is too old, her feet have grown 
large, for she is twelve years of age, and the pain 
she would suffer would be so great that, being a 
delicate child, I fear it would make her ill.” 

‘ ‘ What nonsense !’ ’ was the reply of her neigh- 
bors; “we will never believe foot-binding can 
injure any one’s health. It is just an excuse 
made by careless women.” 

No wonder Chwin-E’s mother, who was a 
weak-minded person, with little resolution, grew 
only more perplexed, and at last, feeling she 
could not endure the criticism of her friends, she 
one day procured the long cotton bandages and 


250 


home-life in china. 


set to work to deform her little daughter’s feet 
and reduce them to the much-desired smallness 
which Chinese fashion prescribes. The poor child 
suffered more than is usual, since the binding had 
been so long delayed. She was an uncomplaining 
little thing and bore the pain patiently, though I 
heard afterwards that she was sometimes seen in 
a corner of the house crying quietly by herself. 
When upon going to the school I missed her 
bright little face and inquired after her, I received 
the same answer as of old. She was ill and could 
not come. 

The fierce heat of a more than usually oppres- 
sive Chinese summer was upon us; even the na- 
tives suffered severely, and malarial fever was 
terribly prevalent. Sickness obliged us for a time 
to leave the city; and on our return, when I asked 
after Chwin-E, a sad story was told me. 

Constant pain seemed to have sapped the poor 
child’s strength, and when she was stricken down 
with fever she was unable to rally from it. She 
grew weaker and weaker, till at last, one August 
evening, they saw the end was near. 

“ Send for the teacher to come and pray with 
me,” said the child; and when that good Chris- 
tian woman came and knelt by the little one’s 
bedside, she found the room crowded not only 
with sorrowing friends but with curious neigh- 
bors. With earnest w r ords she commended the 
little sufferer to Him who is the Friend and Sa- 





CHINESF CHESS-PLAYEKS 




chwin-e; or, the faded flower. 253 

viour of children in every land. The poor weak- 
minded mother stood by the bedside weeping bit- 
terly. 

“Do not cry, mother,” said little Chwin-B; 
44 I am not afraid. I am going to be very happy; 
why should you weep?” 

The heathen neighbors who had pressed into 
the room looked at each other in amazement. 
“What did it mean that a child could talk like 
that?” 

44 She is not afraid; she is glad to die ! What 
strange people these Christians are !” 

When they returned to their homes that night 
all that could change of Chwin-B was left lying 
on the bed in the sleep of death, for the little spirit 
had gone home to Jesus “to be happy,” as she 
had said herself. We could but pray that some 
of those Chinese women who had wondered curi- 
ously over the death of our little scholar might 
be led to seek the blessing of salvation for them- 
selves — that wondrous gift which takes away all 
fear of dying, since Jesus says, “I am the resur- 
rection and the life: he that belie veth in me, 
though he were dead, yet shall he live.” 


254 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER VI. 

YANG KIEN-TANG; OR, THE BOY WHO BECAME 

A DOCTOR. 

More than twenty years ago two members of 
the London Mission, Mr. Griffith John and his col- 
league, Mr. Wilson, set out from the port of Shang- 
hai on a journey of more than six hundred miles 
up the broad yellow waters of the Yang-tse-kiang. 
For several days they seemed to be voyaging 
across some great inland sea, almost out of sight 
of land. Before long they came to the city of 
Nankin, once the capital of China and famous 
for its grand porcelain pagoda, which was de- 
stroyed by the Tai-pings, or long-haired rebels, 
who had been for years ravaging the country. 
Still onward by many a ruined town and city, 
past the bold peaks of Lu-Shan and the entrance 
to the Poyang Lake, till at last, after a journey of 
twelve days, they reached the cluster of three cit- 
ies dignified by the Chinese with the title of the 
Heart of the Empire. 

On one side of the river, here more than a 
mile in breadth, stood the mart of Hankow, the 
great trading port from which so much of the 
black tea is shipped direct for England. Though 
only five years before it had been burned to the 



HANKOW, FROM THE HANYANG HILL, 






YANG KIEN-TANG. 


257 

ground by the rebels, it had risen up from its 
ashes, and seemed once more the flourishing town 
of old. On the farther shore of the river rose the 
yamens and pagodas of the provincial capital of 
Wuchang, one of the great centres of Chinese 
learning, which contains within its ancient gray 
walls examination halls capable of containing 
over ten thousand students. The small city of 
Hanyang was close at hand; and a grand field of 
labor the three cities seemed to the newly-arrived 
missionaries longing to tell the busy thousands 
which crowded their streets the glad news which 
brightens this life with the hope of a glad life 
beyond. 

The missionaries decided to commence work 
at once; and before the close of the year they 
were settled with their families in two Chinese 
houses in the midst of the populous mart of Han- 
kow. Books were distributed and preaching car- 
ried on day by day, both on the streets and in the 
missionaries’ houses. The Lord of the harvest 
blessed the labors of his servants, and about one 
year after their arrival they had the joy of bapti- 
zing twelve converts from heathenism who pro- 
fessed to be trusting in the Lord Jesus alone for 
salvation. One of the twelve was a teacher of the 
name of Yang. He used to be seen Sunday after 
Sunday in regular attendance at the house of God; 
but for several years his wife was bitterly opposed 
to his new faith, and tried by every means in her 


258 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


power to prevent him from taking their little son 
to the Christian services. Not unfrequently, how- 
ever, the father’s will prevailed, and little Kien- 
tang, with his bright face, was seen sitting by his 
father’s side listening attentively to the preacher’s 
words. Probably he was all the more anxious to 
understand what the teacher was talking about 
because he knew there was a difference of opinion 
upon the subject between his father and mother; 
and he was puzzled to know if it was right to wor- 
ship idols as his mother did, or if the unseen God 
to whom his father made his requests, filling the 
while his childish heart with awe, was really the 
Being that people ought to worship. What strange 
stories the neighbors told of the Jesus religion, and 
yet his father was kinder to him than ever before, 
and at any rate no dreadful things took place in 
the chapel such as people talked about. 

Time passed on, and at last young Yang’s 
mother became a Christian also, and would often 
come out to the chapel on Sundays; and at the 
same time, when Kien-tang was a lad of about 
fourteen, he also was received into the church by 
baptism. He was a bright, intelligent lad, with 
an attractive manner, which won for him many 
friends. He had made good progress in his Chi- 
nese studies, and his Christian training was by no 
means neglected by his parents. 

Towards the end of the year 18 66 it had been 
decided to commence medical work in connection 


YANG KIEN-TANG. 


259 


with the mission at Hankow. A fine hospital 
and dispensary were erected, and the lame, the 
blind, and those who were stricken with various 
diseases which the medical skill of Chinese doc- 
tors could not heal, came in crowds to the foreign 
physician. Large numbers were relieved and 
w r ent on their way rejoicing. It was only natu- 
ral that a clever boy like Yang should have been 
much interested in this wonderful work of heal- 
ing, and the doctor in charge, pleased with the 
lad’s evident ability, readily undertook to train 
him for the medical profession. For many years 
he continued to study under the care of the suc- 
cessive doctors who took charge of the Hankow 
hospital; by each and all he was found to be an 
apt pupil whom it was a pleasure to instruct. 
One taught him a little of the English language; 
and he made such progress in his medical studies 
that, as he grew up to manhood, he might easily 
have been placed in charge of the hospital. His 
fame as a skilful young physician spread among 
his countrymen, and not a few who would have 
been unwilling to place themselves in the hands 
of a foreign doctor anxiously sought for his ad- 
vice and aid. 

When Dr. Mackenzie was called away from 
Hankow to commence the medical work which 
has been carried on at Tientsin with such suc- 
cess under the liberal patronage of China’s great- 
est viceroy, Li Hung Chang, the young man, Yang 


260 home-life in china. 

\ 

Kien-tang, found in a large degree the responsi- 
bility of the Hankow work resting upon him. 
His home-life was happy. At the age of seven- 
teen he had married the niece of the teacher 
Shen, a man of considerable literary talent and the 
principal native assistant of the Hankow church. 
An attractive Christian girl was the betrothed of 
Kien-tang, with quiet, gentle manners. The 
young couple were married amid the rejoicings of 
friends, both Chinese and English. Christmas 
day had been chosen as the wedding-day; but 
when the morning dawned the winter winds had 
lashed the broad Yang-tse into such furious waves 
that there could be no communication between 
the cities, and as the pastors were then residing 
on the Wuchang shore, the marriage was neces- 
sarily postponed till the succeeding day. Some 
two years after a little son was born to the young 
couple, who received the name of Heaven’s Gift. 
His parents received him as indeed a gift from 
God, and he has now several brothers and sisters, 
all of whom are being brought up in the love and 
fear of their Heavenly Father. 

As time passed on his fellow -citizens were 
proud to recognize the skill and ability of the 
young doctor. Some of the chief officials of the 
province became interested in the matter and be- 
gan to ask themselves why they could not secure 
for a purely native hospital a man so singularly 
talented as Dr. Yang. Money was readily sub- 



VICEROY LI HUNG CHANG, 





YANG KIEN-TANG. 


263 

scribed, a building purchased, and Yang invited 
to take charge of it. After considering the mat- 
ter the young Chinaman consented to accede to 
the wish of his countrymen, but on one condition 
only. He was a Christian, and must be allowed 
to show his colors. If the hospital might be 
conducted upon Christian principles, and daily 
preaching and teaching carried on there, then he 
would accept the position. Nothing had been 
farther from the plans of these Chinese officials 
than to connect their new medical venture with 
the religion of Jesus, and yet, sooner than lose 
the valued services of young Dr. Yang, they 
agreed even to this distasteful stipulation. 

The new hospital was opened on the 27th of 
September, 1880, with a Christian dedicatory ser- 
vice, and Christian preaching and teaching have 
been carried on there daily ever since. It stands 
on one of the busy thoroughfares of that crowded 
city — a Chinese building, supported by Chinese 
money; and facing the doorway, in gilt letters, 
plain for all passers-by to see, is inscribed the leg- 
end, “ To God be all the glory.” 

Thank God for a life like Dr. Yang’s and for 
the influence of such a life, which extends farther 
than we are apt to realize ! Yang is not only a 
skilful doctor, but a most eloquent speaker, and 
few who have heard him at the church meetings 
speaking in most expressive language of the 
things which make for our peace but have felt a 



264 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

wish rise in their hearts that Christians in our 
own land could hear him speak with the same 
eloquence and fervor. 

A younger brother of Dr. Yang is now, after 
many years of study, preaching the gospel to his 
own countrymen. He was always a clever lad, 


THE CHINESE WORD FOR “.FAITH.” 

like his brother, and when only a boy was famous 
for the fanciful style in which he would write or 
paint Chinese characters. The Chinese use their 
characters or written words for many decorative 
purposes. Several words are written upon a silk 
or satin scroll and hung up in pairs upon the 
walls of their dwellings. Many clever Chinamen 


f 


YANG KIKN-TANG. 


265 


can take a word or character and make every 
stroke in it have some curious meaning, and 
looking like some particular object in the wri- 
ter’s mind at the time. This was a favorite 
amusement of the younger Yang, and one day, 
some years ago, he brought me, when quite a lad, 
the word for faith, which is written as you see in 
the picture. 

You will notice that young Yang had evident- 
ly been studying the sixth chapter of the Epistle 
to the Ephesians, and has made every stroke of 
the character meaning faith stand for some part 
of the armor of God in which St. Paul says the 
Christian is to be clad. On the left hand you see 
the shield of faith, and below it the sword of the 
Spirit. The helmet of salvation rests above the 
girdle of truth. Beneath these you see a Chinese 
shoe, for the Christian’s feet are to be shod with 
the preparation of the gospel of peace, and below 
them you have a side view of the breastplate of 
righteousness. 

A gentleman in Scotland who saw this clever 
picture-word was so pleased with it that he had it 
painted in colors on a piece of glass, which was 
put into a neat frame and sent out to China. 
The last time I was in Yang’s house I saw hang- 
ing upon the wall, evidently preserved with much 
care, the picture which had travelled so far. 


Home-Life in China. 


15 


266 


home-like in china. 


1 


CHAPTER VII. 

KAI-KWEI; OR, THE YOUNG SOLDIER. 

u Such a pretty girl as she was, with the tini- 
est of 4 golden lilies ’ ! So clever too ! Eook at 
her embroidery; why, she could earn quite large 
sums by her beautiful handiwork; and to think of 
her waiting for that young soldier ! Why, he had 
been killed in the wars long ago, without the least 
doubt !” These were the opinions and remarks of 
all the friends and relatives of a young girl whom 
I will call by the English name of “Water Eily,” 
who lived some years ago in the ancient city of 
Wuchang. She had been betrothed when quite 
a child to a boy who was the son of a Christian. 
While still only a lad he had enlisted in the im- 
perial army, and had been drafted off with many 
more to reinforce the regiments which had been 
for some years struggling to put down the rebel- 
lion in the far northwest of the empire. Very 
occasionally letters would be received from him 
telling good news of his advancement, but there 
seemed little likelihood that he would be able 
soon to return to his friends and home. 

The Chinese are rarely in much haste to con- 
clude their campaigns, and this one in particular 


KAI-KWEI; OR, THE YOUNG SOLDIER. 267 

had been carried on in a most leisurely fashion, 
the soldiers even waiting to sow the fields and 
reap the produce as they advanced upon the foe. 

More than a year, nay, almost two, had passed, 
and no news had come from the young soldier; 
so the girl’s friends came to the conclusion that 
her betrothed had certainly perished on the bat- 
tlefield. Even the widowed mother gave up the 
hope of seeing her son again. The friends of 
Water Lily having decided that there would be 
no soldier bridegroom in the future for her, were 
very anxious to arrange some other marriage at 
once. 

Chinese public opinion holds in high esteem 
the girl who, in the event of the death of her 
promised husband, refuses to be again betrothed; 
should she even put an end to her life she is 
thought worthy of the highest praise. This is 
their ideal of what a virtuous and devoted girl 
should do. But as a matter of fact, though a 
family feels that a great honor has been conferred 
upon them when a young lady acts up to this 
high ideal, I think on the whole, to people who 
do not place honor and fame above all else, it is 
considered a more comfortable arrangement to 
have - the girl quietly transferred into another 
family. 

But Water Lily, unlike the majority of Chi- 
nese girls, was possessed of some decision of char- 
acter, and having considered the matter, had come 


263 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


to her own conclusion. She had no wish to be 
married and leave her childhood’s home, and she 
did not find her life by any means so dull and sad 
that she had any idea of putting an end to it. 
She knew but very little of the lad to whom she 
had been betrothed, yet she felt that without reli- 
able news of his death she could not consent to 
act as if it were a certainty. 

These ideas of Water L,ily were very annoy- 
ing to her friends, who were naturally inclined to 
arrange another betrothal for a girl so bright and 
clever. Had she not been promised before, it 
would have been quite unnecessary to consult her 
in the matter; but with the popular feeling about 
the binding nature of such engagements, it was a 
very difficult matter to act in opposition to the 
girl’s wishes. All the female members of the 
family had discussed the matter till it was quite 
threadbare, and they had reached the point of 
despair, when at last, one spring morning, the 
young soldier who had been so long missing re- 
turned “covered with glory.” In other words, 
he had won the right to w r ear a mandarin’s but- 
ton and a gay peacock’s feather in his best hat. 

The family perplexities w r ere changed into re- 
joicings, for it was decided that the marriage of 
the young couple should be celebrated at once. 
It was the bridegroom himself who related to us, 
with much pride and satisfaction, the story of his 
bride’s constancy, which the proverbial little bird 


KAI-KWEI; OR, THE YOUNG SOEDIER. 269 

had carried to his ears. The marriage took place 
with Christian ceremonies; for in the rough life 
of the camp and the battlefield the young soldier 
had remembered the training of his early days, 
and was determined to have no idolatrous ceremo- 
nies performed at his wedding. This decision 
greatly dismayed his wife’s friends, who were 
fearful that all sorts of evil and disaster would 
follow, if gods and spirits were not entertained 
and propitiated on such an important occasion. 
We attended the wedding- feast, and tasted as 
sparingly as politeness would permit the extraor- 
dinary variety of dishes which grace the festive 
board in China. 

For some time after the young bridegroom 
used to appear very regularly in his place at 
church, attired in somewhat gorgeous clothing, 
but a most attentive worshipper. He came up to 
the Mission House at frequent intervals, and had 
many strange stories to tell of his wild camp-life. 
He informed us that he was well known as a 
Christian by his comrades, and one night he was 
captured with others by the foe. These enemies 
were Mohammedans, and when they found that 
Kai-kwei was a worshipper of the one God and 
did not bow down to idols, they were much sur- 
prised and had many inquiries to make. “We 
also worship the one God; we have heard of the 
name of Jesus !” they exclaimed. “ We will not 
look upon you as an enemy,” and the prepara- 


270 


home-life in china. 


tions for his summary execution were immedi- 
ately countermanded. 

As time passed on a child was born into the 
family; but how great was the disappointment of 
the parents, for it was only a girl. The young 
father was a Christian, and his wife was trying 
to understand his teachings and follow in the way 
which he said was the road to heaven; but it takes 
a long time in some cases to change the feelings 
and ideas about the events of every-day life which 
have descended through countless generations. 
The young wife wept bitterly over the arrival of 
the poor unwelcome little stranger. 

Then Kai-kwei took out his Bible, and turn- 
ing to the third chapter of the Epistle to the Gala- 
tians, he read how ‘ ‘ there is neither bond nor free, 
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one 
in Christ Jesus;” and with these and other words 
he tried to cheer and comfort his weeping wife. 

As the baby girl grew older I liked to see the 
young father proudly carrying his little daughter 
along the green slopes of the city wall, carefully 
comparing notes with us as to her growth and 
that of our little son. I think he had quite for- 
gotten his first feeling of disappointment, for he 
tended the small girl with genuine fatherly affec- 
tion. Some time after the little girl had a bro- 
ther, who was welcomed and rejoiced over, as are 
all Chinese boys, by every member of the family. 

But perfect happiness, as far as the affairs of 


KAI-KWEi; OR, THE YOUNG SOLDIER. 271 

this life are concerned, is not any more frequently 
found in China than in America. Young Kai- 
kwei and his wife had hitherto been living, with 
little thought for the future, upon the savings of 
his soldier life. He had given up his post in the 
army because he did not care again to leave his 
home for an indefinite time; but it soon became 
evident that it would be necessary for him to find 
some employment in order to supply the needs of 
his family. Many things were suggested to him, 
and at last he was recommended by some of his 
Chinese friends to try and gain a livelihood by 
taking a situation with some foreigner in the port 
of Hankow. He would be well paid and would 
still be near his home; these were very strong rec- 
ommendations to Kai-kwei. So our young soldier 
was soon seen turning his hand to domestic work. 
I am afraid that the mysteries of an English 
kitchen puzzled him exceedingly. He soon found 
that his military training was the reverse of help- 
ful to him, and before long he decided to give up 
an occupation for which he was by no means 
suited. 

By-and-by a missionary, who was engaged in 
itinerating work and was in need of a Chinese 
helper and servant, engaged Kai-kwei to accom- 
pany him on his journeys. The wandering life 
suited the lad in many respects, though he would 
have been glad to remain at home, had that been 
possible. After a time he again accepted military 


272 home-life in china. 

service in the yamen of a mandarin. He was fre- 
quently on duty away from the city; but when at 
home we rarely saw his face at the Sabbath ser- 
vices, and our hearts were often made sad to find 
the young man who had stood firm through the 
hard life of the camp grow careless and indiffer- 
ent amid the temptations of the city. 

We hear very little of the young wife, whose 
constancy and gentle ways had won her many 
friends. It is not right that a woman should be 
seen abroad, say the relatives with whom she re- 
sides, and she is kept very closely indoors. 

Does she remember the old teaching and the 
good words she used to hear in the chapel ? We 
cannot tell. We often have to work in the dark 
in China, to sow seed with little opportunity of 
seeing it spring up and bear fruit. Sometimes 
missionaries grow weary and unhappy because 
they see so much less of the results of their work 
than they expect and long for. 

The little hearts at home should often remem- 
ber them, for even children can send much 
strength and gladness to far-off China by asking 
God to give it to those for whom they pray. 
When we are sowing the good seed of the gospel, 
and it seems long in springing up and bringing 
forth fruit, there are some lines that now and then 
come into my mind, as well as many beautiful 
Scripture promises. 

Shall I write out the lines for you ? 


KAI-KWEi; OR, the young soedier. 273 


“ ’T is weary watching day by day, 

But still the tide heaves onward ; 

We climb like corals grave by grave, 

But pave a path that ’s sunward. 

We -re beaten back in many a fray, 

But newer strength we ’ll borrow, | 

And where the vanguard camps to-day 
The rear shall rest to-morrow.” 

It is God’s work we are doing in China, and 
he has said that some day u the knowledge of the 
Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the 
sea,” and that u kings shall bow down before him, 
all nations shall call him blessed ’ so no one need 
ever feel discouraged. Do you not think so ? 


274 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

TA-KU AND ER-KU; OR, THE TEACHER’S 
DAUGHTERS. 

IT is well known that the literary men of 
China are much opposed to the Christian reli- 
gion. At first, when missionaries went to their 
country, these scholarly men used to try and en- 
courage the lowest of the people to rise against 
them, and when a mob was formed they would 
drive the foreign preachers out of the place. 
Very often missionaries have been stoned, their 
clothing torn from them, the houses in which 
they have been living have been burned or pulled 
down, and they have had to escape for their lives. 
Some have been obliged to swim across rivers, to 
escape into the open country, or to take refuge in 
the yamens, or magistrates’ offices, while the an- 
gry mob was battering at the door, calling out, 
“Beat or kill the foreign demons!” Many Chi- 
nese Christians too have had to suffer the loss of 
all things because they have chosen to be follow- 
ers of the Lord Jesus Christ; some have even lost 
their lives because they would not deny him. 

The first of these Protestant martyrs in China 
was a man named Chea, a member of the London 
Mission Church at Pok-lo, a town in the province 


TA-KU AND ER-KU. 


275 


of Kwang-tung. He had first heard something of 
the gospel from a colporter of the British and For- 
eign Bible Society, and wishing to learn more 
about it he came up to Canton to receive instruc- 
tion from Dr. Legge and Mr. Chalmers. He was 
an elderly man, and after he became a Christian 
he seemed to live only to bring others to the Sa- 
viour who had made him glad. His earnest la- 
bors were blessed by God, and in a year or two at 
this remote out-station, which was only occasion- 
ally visited by the foreign missionaries, a little 
church of more than one hundred members had 
been gathered together. 

Such a good work could not go on without 
arousing the opposition of some of these literary 
men of whom I have spoken. They were very 
angry when they saw so many coming forward 
and professing themselves believers in One whom 
his disciples adored as far greater than their re- 
vered sage Confucius. So they determined to 
punish severely the venerable man who had been 
the first to become a Christian. 

One October night a band of cruel men came 
to Chea’s house and carried him away with them. 
They took him to one of their houses and sus- 
pended him by his hands and feet from a beam. 
What torture he suffered all through that long 
night of pain ! But the Lord Jesus was close by 
his side, which made his sufferings easier to bear, 
for Christ never leaves his faithful servants alone 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


276 

in tlieir time of trial. All through two days these 
men tortured and insulted the poor old Christian, 
trying to make him deny his Lord ; but this Chea 
had determined, God helping him, never to do. 
So on the third day they carried him off to the 
river-side, and, as he still refused to renounce 
Christ, they put him to death and cast his body 
into the stream. 

What a change it must have been for poor old 
Chea to go straight from the angry mob shouting 
out for his blood to the glad welcomes and rejoi- 
cings of our Father’s house ! 

So you see the trials and difficulties of the 
Christians of early days, which you find described 
in the Acts of the Apostles, are being repeated 
over and over again in China now, which makes 
that portion of their Bible very frequently studied 
by Chinese Christians. You will remember that 
in those old days it was generally the wise and 
learned men who persecuted the Christians and 
hated them most; and it is the same in China to- 
day. No doubt, then, you will think that mis- 
sionaries are very glad when they see these clever 
men coming into the chapels, asking many ques- 
tions about our faith, and then after a time pro- 
fessing to be followers of Jesus and desiring to be 
baptized. Yes, they are glad; but they are al- 
most always afraid that these men are not really 
Christians, but are asking to belong to the church 
in the hope that some of the missionaries will 


TA-KU AND ER-KU. 277 

be wanting teachers for themselves or for their 
schools and so be inclined to employ them. 

There are many literary men in China, be- 
cause every one thinks it much better to be a 
scholar than to be a farmer or a merchant; and 
so a large number of these clever people are very 
poor and always very anxious to get into situa- 
tions. Not unfrequently some of these learned 
men will say they have determined to be Chris- 
tians, when they do not understand what it means 
to have their hearts changed. They think they 
can become Christians by calling themselves by 
the name of Jesus; but we know that whether a 
man is an Englishman or a Chinaman he cannot 
become a Christian in that way. It is not only 
an outside change in our lives, but an inside 
change in our hearts, that we need, and if we 
come to Jesus in simple faith he will work the 
change for us. 

The missionaries have been often disappointed 
with clever people who have pretended to be 
Christians and afterwards shown clearly by their 
conduct that they did not love Jesus at all. So 
they usually keep literary men waiting a long 
time before they receive them into the church, 
lest they should afterwards bring disgrace upon 
the name of Christ. 

I want to tell you about the two daughters of 
a teacher whose name, was Wu. He was baptized 
in the summer of 1871, and in the next year his 


278 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

wife, with, her two little daughters, Ta-ku and 
Er-ku, was received into the church at Wu- 
chang. Mrs. Wu was an earnest Christian wo- 
man, and she trained up her little daughters in 
the love and fear of God. But Mr. Wu, or teach- 
er Wu, as he was called, was a very different 
character. He could not understand what the 
other Christians meant when they talked about 
the happiness they had in following Christ. He 
thought if he never worshipped idols, since he 
had given up the ancestral tablets and came 
regularly to the Sabbath services, it was quite 
enough. He used to teach his little girls to read 
and write, consequently they were much better 
educated than most Chinese girls. 

About three years after her baptism Mrs. Wu’s 
health, which had always been delicate, began 
seriously to fail. Before long she knew that she 
could not hope to recover; so she told her little 
girls she must soon leave them, and entreated 
them to remember all she had taught them and 
try to follow Christ, taking all their sorrows and 
difficulties to him in prayer. 

Soon after she fell asleep in Jesus. Not long 
after his wife’s death Mr. Wu began to think 
about betrothing his daughters, for, indeed, this 
matter had been delayed longer than is usual in 
China. He had no son, and wanted to get a 
young man who would be willing to come and 
live with him and act a son’s part to him. 


TA-KU AND ER-KU. 


279 


It is not uncommon for students who have ob- 
tained a high degree at the literary examinations 
to advertise their willingness to become the sons- 
in-law of rich men. Mr. Wu discovered a young 
man whom he thought likely to make a suitable 
son-in-law in the person of a young military man- 
darin of inferior rank. When his little daughter 
heard of the negotiations which were going on 
she wept bitterly and begged her father not to 
conclude the betrothal, since the man was not a 
Christian. The girls had remembered the teach- 
ings of their mother and as often as they were 
allowed would attend the Sunday services. One 
Sabbath morning the preacher took for his text 
the words, ‘ ‘ Be ye not unequally yoked together 
with unbelievers,” and dwelt upon the truth that 
the Christians who disobeyed this command and 
married those who were still idolaters could not 
expect God’s blessing upon them. The young 
girl went home in great distress, and implored 
her father to allow her to remain at home unmar- 
ried, since she feared to disobey God’s command- 
ment. Mr. Wu refused to listen to his child’s 
entreaties, for, he said, it was quite time she was 
married, and there was no one among the Chris- 
tians who were not betrothed to whom he cared to 
give her. 

So the matter was arranged. Before long the 
marriage took place, but the young wife came no 
more to the Christian services, since her husband 


28 o 


home-life in china. 


did not consider it would be respectable for Her to 
be seen out of doors. Only once or twice in the 
year, when she was allowed to visit her mother’s 
grave, she would call at the Mission House on 
the way and I was able to talk to her a little 
about her mother’s God. But the home influen- 
ces were too strong for her, and she seemed to 
have grown to a great extent indifferent to the 
subjects which had once so deeply interested 
her. 

The younger sister, Er-ku, was still allowed 
to come to Christian worship at intervals as well 
as to attend the women’s Bible-class held at the 
Mission House. I remember one afternoon the 
women had been holding a little prayer-meeting. 
When it was nearly over Er-ku tremblingly lifted 
her voice in prayer; she asked that God would 
change the heart of her sister’s husband so that 
he might become a Christian, and that the sister 
herself might not be led astray by her marriage 
with a heathen. 

About this time Mr. Wu determined to enter 
into business as a cotton merchant, and he went 
into partnership with a man who lived in a town 
about a hundred miles from Wuchang. For a 
time everything went well with them, till Mr. 
Wu discovered that his partner expected him to 
pay all the debts, while he retained the profits. 
Mr. Wu was naturally very indignant; but as an 
appeal to native justice would not bring any speedy 


TA-KU AND ER-KU. 


28 l 


redress, lie bethought him that he might at least 
try what an appeal to the British Consul, through 
the missionary, would do for him. He was much 
annoyed when he found that, since he was by no 
means suffering on account of his Christianity, 
the pastor could not help him in this way. See- 
ing that this hope failed him, he declared his in- 
tention of applying to the Roman-catholic priests, 
who would, he said, without doubt lend him their 
powerful aid. 

Poor Mr. Wu ! how little he understood the 
real nature of the religion of Christ. He was like 
many of the people who followed Jesus when he 
lived on the earth, seeking after the loaves and 
fishes, expecting that our Lord would be made 
an earthly king and give his followers power and 
influence in this world. 

As the time passed on we began to be afraid 
that Mr. Wu would arrange a marriage for his 
younger daughter and that we should miss Er- 
ku’s bright, attentive face among the little band 
of Christian women and girls. So we were much 
pleased to hear that there was some idea of be- 
trothing the girl to Chiang-Swei, the young son of 
the preacher. I found that, contrary to the usual 
Chinese custom, the marriage had been proposed 
and was most desired by the friends of the girl, 
while the preacher was inclined to hesitate about 
the matter, since he neither liked nor respected 
the father of Er-ku. The young people had played 

16 


282 


home-life in china. 


together as little children not long before, and 
consequently knew more of each other than is the 
case with most who are betrothed in China. Be- 
fore long the affair was arranged at a feast pre- 
pared by the father of the lad. 

Speaking about the marriage, the old preacher 
said to me, u Er-ku is a little older than our son; 
it would have been better had she been younger; 
and the father is not all that we could wish, but 
we must leave the matter in God’s hands. It has 
not been of our seeking, and certainly the girl 
herself is suitable in every respect.” 

So the young couple were married, amid the 
congratulations and rejoicings of friends, at the 
little Wuchang chapel. 

Their future seems likely to be a happy one, 
although at present, according to a very common 
Chinese custom, the young wife remains in the 
home of her husband’s parents while he continues 
in his situation as assistant at a mission hospital 
more than three hundred miles away, paying only 
occasional visits to his home. Er-ku’ s previous 
education has been very useful to her since her 
marriage, and she has often been able to give 
much assistance to her mother-in-law while she 
has had charge of the girls’ school at Wuchang. 


HOW SWEI-KU WAS CURED. 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOW SWEI-KU WAS CURED OF RUNNING AWAY. 

“ She is very young,” said the pastor, and he 
shook his head gravely. “Had yon not better 
put off the wedding for a time ?’ ’ 

He made this remark in reply to a request that 
he would that week go and marry a little girl 
about fourteen years of age. 

Swei-ku was the niece of one of our deacons, 
and she was about the wildest Chinese lassie I 
ever knew. You would never have dreamed of 
speaking of her as having either a pleasing or 
attractive face. But she had a funny little twin- 
kle in her small black eyes, and a comical expres- 
sion of countenance which sometimes reminded 
me of Mrs. Stowe’s “Topsy.” I never heard 
what had become of her father and mother, for 
since I had known her she had lived with her 
uncle only. He had arranged a betrothal for her 
with a lad who was also under his guardianship, 
but it was not intended that the marriage should 
take place for some years to come. 

In the meantime Swei-ku was taught to earn 
a little money by doing needlework and to help 
her aunt in various household duties. She used 
to come sometimes with her relatives to the wo- 


284 


HOME-LIFE in CHINA. 


men’s class, but lier small black eyes would wan- 
der over the room, taking note of every foreign 
article it contained, and everything else was of 
more interest than the lesson. The rough little 
head with which she usually appeared made her 
a great contrast to all the rest of the women and 
girls, who always tried to look their best and 
neatest when attending the class. 

But there was one soft place in Swei-ku’s wild 
little heart: she was much attached to the little 
boy whom her uncle had adopted because he had 
no children of his own. Whenever I appeared 
anywhere in the neighborhood of the house Swei- 
ku would make a rush indoors and bring out for 
my inspection the baby boy, whom she evidently 
looked upon as quite a superior being to herself. 
But she was a very idle girl; she liked play very 
much better than work, and when reproved for 
her laziness would suddenly disappear for several 
days together, no one knew where, to the great 
alarm of her friends. Search would be made for 
her in all directions, but without success; and 
after some days Swei-ku’s black mop would ap- 
pear looking in at the doorway, and she would 
settle down again, as if nothing had happened, 
for some months to come. 

These pranks of the girl’s, which she seemed 
to regard so lightly, were very annoying to the 
family of her uncle. It was not at all respectable 
to have her playing such tricks as these, and after 


HOW SWEI-KU WAS CURED. 285 

she had disappeared on several occasions a family 
council was called to decide upon what had best 
be done with the refractory girl. 

The advice of each one was that Swei-ku must 
be married; once make her into a wife and she 
would settle down quietly enough. Did ever any 
one hear of such a recipe for changing a mad-cap 
girl into a sensible one ? 

No wonder the pastor looked grave and shook 
his head, for the idea of wild little Swei-ku 
turned into a married woman was quite too 
extraordinary to be readily entertained. But as 
the girl’s friends were all agreed that it was the 
only way to cure her of running away, and they 
had quite decided the marriage should take place, 
it seemed useless to refuse to perform the cere- 
mony. 

So on the wedding-day Swei-ku appeared, her 
small rough head hidden from sight under the tra- 
ditional veil of scarlet. As she stood by the side 
of her young bridegroom, a simple-looking coun- 
try lad, I should not have been much surprised 
to see her make a dart out of the open door .and 
disappear from our sight. But no such catastro- 
phe occurred. Swei-ku made the proper responses 
and was safely married. She was marshalled out 
of the chapel by the two elderly married women 
who fulfil the duties of bridesmaids in China. 
She was taken to the women’s apartment in her 
uncle’s house, which had been decorated for the 


c 


286 home-life in china. 

occasion, while the principal room w^is prepared 
for the wedding-feast. 

For some time after this I saw no more of 
Swei-ku, but when I next met her, I cannot say 
how it had happened, but a great change had 
come over her. Her hair was all drawn back in 
womanly style, and her forehead seemed strange- 
ly broad, for, according to Chinese custom, all the 
short hairs had been plucked out. She actually 
looked tidy for the first time. She was very de- 
mure and quiet; all traces of her mad-cap ways 
seemed to have been cast aside. “You did the 
right thing in marrying Swei-ku after all,” I re- 
marked to the pastor. 

“ Do you think so? Well, I hope so too,” he 
replied, though he still looked somewhat grave. 


THE STORY OE CHANG-FU. 


2S7 


CHAPTER X. 

refusing to bow down in the house of 

rimmon; or, the story of chang-fu. 

Our preaching-room, or the “Glad Tidings 
Hall,” stands on one of the busiest streets of the 
city of Wuchang. It is open every day of the 
week, and the missionary and native preacher are 
always there for several hours at a time, speaking 
to the people, who curiously peep into the room, 
and finally walk in and sit down to try and find 
out a little about the strange foreign people and 
the religion they have come to China to teach. 

Here you might see a countryman with the 
basket full of things he has come into the city to 
buy set down by his side. Next to him there is 
possibly a pedler, who has left his Case of cord 
and tapes just inside the door. Not far off are a 
company of coolies, who have been waiting some 
time to be hired, or have finished some little busi- 
ness of chair-carrying and are now resting for a 
little time. Some of them look sleepy and drowsy 
and pay little attention to the speaker’s words; 
others are puzzling themselves as to the real rea- 
son which could have induced the foreigner to 
come to their land. 

And now a group of young men, very impo- 


288 


HOME-LIFE in china. 


sing in their long robes of colored silk, have made 
their appearance, walking in a stately manner up 
the hall; looking, in some cases, over the wide 
tortoise-shell rim of their spectacles, they intimate 
that they have some questions to propose to the 
foreign teacher. 

“If this doctrine be really true,” one of them 
asks, “how is it that we in China have heard 
nothing of it for so many hundreds of years? 
Had it been really a religion worth believing 
surely Jesus would have been born in the great 
Middle Kingdom instead of in that remote, un- 
known little land of Judaea !” 

They usually speak in this proud and scornful 
manner, for they cannot bear to hear of any great- 
er teacher than Confucius, a Chinese sage who 
lived in the past ages. He was a very great and 
wise man, whom the Chinese justly hold in the 
very highest esteem, and the religion of the 
learned men of the land is called by his name. 
But he could tell them nothing about the future, 
for when some of the people who were his scholars 
asked him, he replied, “We do not know many 
things about this life, much less about the fu- 
ture. It is, therefore, quite useless to think about 
it.” 

One afternoon, several years ago, among all 
the various people of whom I have spoken there 
came in a boy about fifteen years of age, whose 
name was Chang-Fu. Chang is as common a 


THE STORY OF CHANG-FU. 289 

name in China as Smith is in England, and Fu 
means simply ‘ 1 Happy. ’ ’ 

This boy sat still, listening to all the preach- 
ers had to say in reply to the many questions put 
to them by the congregation. At last the people 
began to go out into the street, a few at a time, 
till every one had gone except young Chang. 
The reason he had not left was because the 
preacher’s son, who was a boy of about the same 
age, had invited him to come into the house for a 
little while and drink tea. This was the begin- 
ning of good days for Chang, for he became a 
very constant visitor at the preacher’s house, 
since it was found that though so young he was 
quite alone in the city. His mother had been for 
many years a nurse in the service of a mandarin’s 
family. This gentleman’s family had removed 
from the city to spend some time at a house they 
had in another province, and so the nurse had 
left her boy in the care of a friend of hers, who 
consented to give him food and clothing. 

Some months had passed since Chang’s first 
visit to the “Glad Tidings Hall,” when his mo- 
ther returned again to the city. She immediately 
set about obtaining a situation for him in the 
family of another official. The lad was to wait 
upon his mistress as a sort of page. Now this 
lady was, according to Chinese ideas, a most de- 
vout and pious woman; indeed, her friends felt 
that there was no doubt she had accumulated so 


290 


home-like in china. 


much merit that the next time she was born into 
the world it would be as a man. For many days 
in the month she would take no other food but 
plain rice and vegetables. Every morning she 
rose at dawn of day and burned incense before a 
little idol, which was placed in a beautiful shrine 
in her own private apartments. While she was 
performing these acts of devotion it was Chang- 
Fu’s duty to light the candles about the shrine 
and assist his mistress in burning the incense. 
But while Chang-Fu had been paying such fre- 
quent visits to the preacher’s house he had 
learned that there was only one living and true 
God whom men should worship, and that doing 
reverence to these idols which men’s hands had 
made was most displeasing to Him. The boy 
thought often of these things and he became very 
unhappy; he knew he could not keep his situa- 
tion without assisting the lady in her devotions. 
His mother would be very angry too if he was 
disobedient to the lady; and yet what could he 
do ? for he felt more afraid than all of disobeying 
the one true God. 

So one day he ran away from his situation and 
found his way to the chapel, and seeking out his 
young friend, Chiang-Swei, he told him of all his 
troubles and begged him to plead with his father 
to find some other occupation for him where he 
would not be obliged to assist in the worship of 
idols. The preacher, Pau, was placed in a very 


THE STORY OE CHANG-FU. 2gi 

difficult position; the lad had made up his mind 
never to return to his situation, and he felt he 
must take pity upon him. So he employed him 
as a sort of errand boy, giving him his food in re- 
turn for his services; and in this way Chang-Fu 
was received into a Christian home and learned 
much more of that God, a knowledge of whom 
had made him fear to worship idols. 

Meanwhile the boy’s mother, who had again 
left the city with her employers very soon after 
she had seen him settled in his situation, re- 
turned. In answer to her inquiries about her son 
she was informed that for some time he had been 
an inmate of the “Glad Tidings Hall.” The 
neighbors, seeing the alarm and terror of the old 
woman, only made matters worse by speculating 
upon the terrible things that might have hap- 
pened to the boy. 

‘ ‘ He will certainly become a foreigner !” “ He 
will eat the religion, and those barbarians will be 
able to make him do just what they please.” 
These and many more were the predictions which 
only added to the mother’s anxiety. 

In a very unhappy state of mind Mrs. Chang 
made her way to the preacher’s house, and stand- 
ing outside the door, she called upon him in no 
measured words to bring out her son, whom, she 
said, he had kidnapped; and she called the Chris- 
tian religion and the foreign teachers by all the 
bad names she could think of. 


292 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

Then Mrs. Pan, the wife of the preacher, an 
earnest Chinese Christian woman, came to the 
door and kindly and politely invited Mrs. Chang 
to come inside and sit down, saying her son was 
just now away on some errand, but as soon as he 
returned she could judge for herself as to the way 
in which he had been treated. The poor anxious 
woman was a good deal surprised at the kind treat- 
ment that she received, but she waited with hardly 
concealed impatience for her boy’s return. Only 
those who know how a Chinese mother’s every 
hope for the future in the spirit-world is bound 
up in her only son can realize how hard was the 
trial she had to bear. 

After a while the lad returned. He told his mo- 
ther all he had learned about the one true God, and 
said he dare not worship or assist others to worship 
idols. He told her of the kindness shown to him 
by the Christians, and begged her to allow him to 
remain where he was. The poor woman left the 
preacher’s house that night feeling very unhappy, 
though she had been somewhat reassured by the 
polite and kind words of the preacher’s wife. At 
last she came to the conclusion that for the pres- 
ent she would allow her son to remain where he 
was evidently well treated. Some months after, 
Chang-Fu, at his earnest desire, was received into 
the church by baptism, together with his young 
friend, Chiang-Swei, the preacher’s son. 

The members of the church are accustomed to 


THE STORY OF CHANG-FU. 293 

contribute a small monthly sum for the relief of 
those connected with the church who are in ex- 
treme poverty or very sick, and for the expenses 
connected with their worship. Chang-Fu was 
only an errand boy at this time, but he was very 
anxious to contribute his mite also. In addi- 
tion to his food he received only six hundred 
cash a month, not much more than half a dollar 
in American money, but he asked to have his 
name put down for three hundred cash monthly. 
The deacons, however, would not consent to re- 
ceive so much from him, as they thought it was 
more than he could afford to give, and he seemed 
quite disappointed at only being allowed to con- 
tribute a smaller sum. 

As time passed on Chang-Fu’ s worldly pros- 
pects improved; he obtained a good situation, and 
his wages were raised to about five dollars a 
month. Some time ago, when he heard that the 
Wuchang chapel was being repaired, he sent, as his 
contribution for that purpose, nearly two dollars. 

I am glad to say that Chang-Fu is able to give 
his master satisfaction and performs his duties 
well. I wish I could say that the lad’s mother 
had become a Christian, but I cannot tell you this 
yet. One Sunday I was glad to hear that a new 
face I noticed among the women at the service in 
the chapel was that of Chang-Fu’ s mother. Since 
then she has been for a long time absent from the 
city, and I have heard no more of her. 


294 


HOME-RIEE IN CHINA. 


CHAPTER XI. 

CHIANG-SWEI; OR, THE PREACHER’S SON. 

Pau Ting-Chang is a man whose name is 
held in high esteem by the Christians of Wuchang. 
In former years he was a highly respectable mer- 
chant, and a devout worshipper of the gods of his 
ancestors. But he heard the gospel preached in 
the Hankow chapel; he became interested, and 
visited the preaching-hall again and again, till at 
last he determined to become a follower of Christ 
and cast in his lot with the despised members of 
the “ Jesus religion.” In course of time he was 
elected by his fellow-members to the office of dea- 
con, which he filled for some years. 

In the year 1865, after much opposition, the 
consent of the mandarins was obtained to the en- 
trance of the teachers into the citv of Wuchang. 
These officials had done all they could to prevent 
the coming of the missionaries, for they argued 
that if, when the students came up from all parts 
of the province to the examinations, they found 
the foreign teachers living and preaching within 
the walls of the provincial capital, they would im- 
mediately consider they were countenanced and 
protected by the Government. This was a state of 
things they desired by all means to avoid. They 


THE) PREACHER’S SON. 


295 


had tried to drive the .Roman-catholic priests from 
their midst some years before. Two of their num- 
ber had been strangled by command of the vice- 
roy, and their lonely graves among the rank grass 
on the low hillside, without the city wall, were re- 
membered and pointed out by a few who were in 
the secret. It was no wonder that mandarins and 
people consented only after long and wearisome 
delay to allow the foreigners to enter their city. 

The man chosen to fill the post of preacher in 
the new chapel which was built in this city was 
Pau Ting-Chang. His wife was a woman of 
character, and had been an earnest Buddhist, like 
himself. She was terribly alarmed and very in- 
dignant when she found her husband had become 
a Christian, and opposed him by all the means in 
her power. It troubled him very much to find 
that his wife became even more constant and de- 
termined in her worship of the idols than she had 
ever been before. 

They had a child to whom the mother was 
devotedly attached, a little boy a few years old. 
The little one fell sick, and became dangerously 
ill; the mother called in the aid of Buddhist 
priests, who promised, upon receipt of a large sum 
of money, to perform religious services in the sick 
child’s room and save his life. They came and 
repeated prayers, beat their gongs, and burned in- 
cense; but all was of no avail; the little one died. 

The poor mother’s heart was almost broken; 


296 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


she lost all faith in her false gods, and, in her 
trouble, became anxious to find out what were the 
teachings of the Christian religion. You can 
imagine the joy of her husband when she told 
him she also had decided to become a follower of 
Jesus. 

Another child was born to them, whose name 
was Chiang-Swei, the boy about whom I am go- 
ing to tell you. Mrs. Pau became as earnest a 
Christian as she was once a Buddhist. She used 
to train her little boy very carefully, teaching 
him to kneel by her side and repeat the prayers 
that little children at home learn— the same pray- 
ers, though the words are in a different language. 
Her most earnest desire was that Chiang-Swei 
should grow up a good man and a believer in 
Jesus. Her neighbors used to think she was far 
too severe and particular with him at times. 

He grew up not very strong, but a bright little 
lad, dutiful to his parents, who were naturally 
very proud of him, and much beloved by all his 
friends. When I first went to China he used to 
be very fond of coming up to the Mission House 
and helping me while I was studying the difficult 
Chinese language. He would tell me the news 
of the city, and explain many things I did not 
understand, stopping and repeating over very 
carefully any words which he saw were puzzling 
to me. 

One day we made a bargain between us. Chi- 


THE PREACHER’S SON. 


297 


ang-Swei was to give me all the help he could, 
as indeed he had already been doing, and I agreed 
to teach him English. How delighted he was at 
the prospect of adding a few more words to “Good- 
by ” and “How do you do?” which constituted 
his English vocabulary! I happened to possess 
an English primer, and so we commenced work 
at once. The meanings of the English words 
were all dictated by me, and written down in 
Chinese by my little friend, and then the sounds, 
as nearly as possible, were put down in Chinese, 
making a third column. 

So anxious was Chiang-Swei to make good 
progress in the new language that, wet or fine, 
sick or well, he never failed to make his appear- 
ance at the Mission House, now coming half 
drenched by the heavy spring rains, and now 
through the intense heat of the summer morning. 
The hour I had promised him was frequently ex- 
tended, and his memory for long columns of 
strange words was most remarkable. A pupil so 
diligent could not fail to make good progress, and 
since every word he learned to read he was also 
taught to write, English penmanship had begun 
to be added to his other accomplishments. 

As time passed on the question of Chiang- 
S wei’ s future began to occupy his parents’ thoughts. 
He expressed a strong wish to study foreign medi- 
cine, since the skill of the English doctor in heal- 
ing diseases had impressed him and his parents, in 

Home-Life in China. X 7 


298 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


common with most other Chinamen. Dr. Mac- 
kenzie, who was then in charge of the Hankow 
hospital, kindly undertook to train the lad. In 
the meantime the Church of Scotland had com- 
menced a mission in the city of Ichang, several 
hundreds of miles farther up the river Yang-tse. 
They wished to open a dispensary and hospital, 
as a means of helping on the work, and were ex- 
pecting a foreign doctor to arrive shortly. Mr. 
Cockburn, who is at the head of the mission, was 
pleased to secure the service of young Chiang- 
Swei as an assistant for the doctor. So his train- 
ing was continued by Dr. Mackenzie with that 
end in view; and when the Ichang doctor passed 
through Hankow, on his way to his station, the 
preacher’s young son accompanied him. 

Mrs. Pau felt it very hard to part with her only 
son, who was the child of many prayers, and yet 
she, with the father, rejoiced to see the lad going 
forth to take his place in the world. It was a no- 
ble service, too, that of relieving the sufferings of 
his fellow-countrymen, and at the same time tell- 
ing them of a Saviour who not only heals the 
diseases of the body, but cleanses and sanctifies 
the heart and life. 

He went forth from us followed and accom- 
panied by many prayers. We were sending him 
out into a new world, far away from all his old 
associations and friends. He was only a lad, and 
had been carefully guarded all his life. Would 


THE PREACHER’S SON. 


299 


lie stand firm when surrounded by temptations? 
Our anxious fears were almost dispelled by the 
earnest request which he made when he came to 
say good-by: “Please do not forget to pray that 
I may be kept faithful to Christ . 1 ’ 

Going forth in this spirit, not trusting in his 
own strength, it is no wonder that only good news 
has ever come to his Wuchang home from those 
under whose care he is working. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cockburn have carefully watched over the lad, and 
have delighted to help him forward in his English 
studies. He has made such good progress that he 
can now read and write as well as speak English 
fairly well. Since the retirement of the foreign 
doctor, some years ago, Chiang-Swei, under the 
direction of the missionaries, has carried on the 
medical work alone. 

He was married at Wuchang, some time ago, 
to Er-ku, the younger of the two daughters of the 
Teacher Wu. Rain and sleet were falling fast on 
the wedding-day, but within the chapel and the 
house of the bridegroom’s parents all was bright 
and gay. The marriage was attended by a large 
number of Christian friends, the chapel was pret- 
tily decorated, and the many-colored hues of the 
Chinese holiday attire made the plain building 
look very gay indeed. If the kind wishes and 
earnest prayers of many friends could make the 
future of the young couple a happy one, it would 
be indeed unclouded. 


300 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

Chiang-Swei continues at his post in the 
Ichang mission. A short time ago I received a 
letter from him written in English. I think you 
would, perhaps, like to read it, so I will copy a 
part of it for you. 

Writing last July from Ichang, he says: 

‘ ‘ I am keeping the Dispensary open with Mr. 
Cockburn, and there are many patients every day. 
There are more than six thousand since the be- 
ginning of the year. In Ichang our Sunday- 
school is doing very well. There are more than 
thirty scholars every Sunday. We teach them 
the New Testament and the Catechism, and make 
them repeat a verse from memory every Sunday. 
The war between France and China does not 
make any difference to us in Ichang, but our peo- 
ple seem to be very anxious to fight. I hope the 
peace between France and China will soon be 
settled. 

U I constantly ask our Heavenly Father to 
bless you all, and help you to return soon to Wu- 
chang to work for God. I hope he will keep you 
all in peace. 

“I am, 

“Yours very sincerely, 


“PAU CHIANG-SWEI.” 


THE MANDARIN’S THREE DAUGHTERS. 3OI 


CHAPTER XII. 

THE MANDARIN’S THREE DAUGHTERS. 

In one of the principal streets of the city of 
Wncliang there stands a mandarin’s residence, 
closely surrounded by the high walls which make 
the dwellings of Chinese gentlemen look more 
like prisons than homes to English eyes. If you 
were allowed to enter, you would see, as I have 
often seen, the prettily-decorated courts filled 
with gay stands of fragrant and beautiful flowers, 
the water-lily tanks, and the curious rock-work 
arches. Behind all the other rooms you would 
find the apartments of the ladies of the family. 

In this home there were three young sisters, 
who lived under - the care of several female rela- 
tives and a brother, their mother and father hav- 
ing died some years before. 

They used to spend most of their time in work- 
ing beautiful embroidery; the handsome decora- 
tions of their brother’s richest robes were the work 
of their delicate fingers. Sometimes, when they 
grew weary of this constant work, they would 
play cards, or, what they liked better than any- 
thing else, listen to the gossip of the old women 
who came, they said, to sell flowers or powder, or 
some other trifling wares, but who were most wel- 


302 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


come because they always had so much news of 
the outside world to tell. Just lately there had 
been a great deal of whispering and excitement 
among the elder women of the family when a cer- 
tain old lady, who followed the trade of a mar- 
riage-maker, made her appearance. 

Of course, they would have to go away from 
their home one of these days. How they wished 
they could all go together; but they knew that 
could not be. They had all been betrothed years 
ago, and yet none of them knew anything of the 
families to which they would belong in the future. 
It was certainly strange. The eldest of the three 
sisters was a girl of sixteen, the youngest only 
thirteen. One of the old women who came around 
was able to read. It was very interesting to hear 
her, and the girls often dreamed over the stories 
she read them. They were all about people the 
like of - whom they had never seen — wonderfully 
clever young ladies, who could not only read, but 
write most learned sonnets and rhymes, and met 
with the strangest of adventures. But nothing of 
the kind ever happened in their lives. They often 
wished that something new would occur to break 
up the monotony of their existence. 

It came at last. One day, in answer to their 
puzzled inquiries, they found that arrangements 
for the marriage of the two elder sisters had been 
already made. How was it they had heard so 
little of the matter? they asked in a chorus of 





CHINESE COURTYARD. 




THE MANDARIN’S THREE DAUGHTERS. 305 

voices. By slow degrees they discovered the 
truth. No wonder there would be few rejoicings 
when the wedding-day arrived, for circumstances 
had altered greatly since the day when their dead 
father had betrothed them as little children to 
the sons of two of his neighbors. The little boy 
who was to be the husband of the eldest girl had, 
soon after the betrothal, been taken seriously ill. 
People said that the marriage which had been ar- 
ranged had in some way brought down evil influ- 
ences upon him. At any rate, the lad had drooped 
and pined till he was now dwarfed and stunted and 
almost an idiot. But what about the second 
daughter? She, poor little girl, listened for the 
news of what her future was to be as if in a dream. 
When it came it seemed to her that her lot was 
as hard as that of her elder sister. The family 
of her young betrothed had become much reduced 
in worldly circumstances. All traces of comfort 
and prosperity had vanished from them ; she would 
have to live a life of degradation and poverty. 

“And what of Mei-mei’s future?” they asked; 
for even the dark cloud which had fallen over 
them had not broken the tender tie of affection 
which bound them to the little sister who crept 
lovingly up to them. “Oh, she will be happy 
enough; the family are rich and great, and their 
son is a clever youth.” 

In the quiet of their own chamber that night 
the girls, who were little more than children, 


HOME-LIKE IN CHINA. 


3°6 

wept with each other over the hard lot that lay 
before them. What could they do? How could 
they escape from it all? Perhaps their brother 
might have some power, and could prevent the 
marriages from taking place; and if not, the elder 
girl whispered something to her younger sister 
which seemed to give her comfort, and they fell 
asleep. Very useless was the appeal they made 
to their brother on the next day; he was angry 
that they knew so much about their future. No 
one could break a betrothal — they well knew that. 
He was as sorry as the girls themselves; they 
must just endure it, for it was their fate. Poor 
children ! they had wished so much for something 
to happen to break up the quiet monotony of their 
lives, and now it had indeed come. They would 
get over it soon, the elder women whispered. Of 
course, it was very sad news just at first, but soon 
it would seem easier to bear : no women were very 
happy in this world. 

Night came at last after that weary day, and 
if you had looked into the apartment of the 
three young sisters you would have been surprised 
to see that they were all dressing themselves in 
their most beautiful robes and putting on their 
finest ornaments. Could they be trying to see 
how they would look in their grand wedding 
attire? Their faces looked far too grave and sad 
for that. The little sister, too, seemed to be en- 
treating them to allow her to do something which 


THE MANDARIN’S THREE DAUGHTERS. 307 

they at first refused. Then the little girl cried 
piteously, holding them fast with her slender arms 
clasped around them, as if she could never bear 
to part with them. “It cannot be any worse 
than this,” the elder whispered, “and at least we 
shall all be together. ’ ’ Then she gave to each of 
her sisters something dark and small which she 
held in her hand. “No one knows anything 
about it; no one can tell us. I wish we could 
know; but no one does know. ’ ’ That was all, and 
then each of the children fell asleep. 

When the first rays of a lovely Eastern morn- 
ing shone over the silent city, they stole in 
through the carved window frames, where the 
paper panes were cracked or torn, and fell upon 
three young faces which lay there as white and 
still as if they had been carved in marble. The 
sunshine lit up into brighter beauty the gorgeous 
hues of the rich robes of silk and satin in which 
the girls had robed themselves for death ; but they 
could not wake the silent sleepers, who, knowing 
so little of either the joys or sorrows of this life, 
and nothing at all about the preparation needed 
for the next, had thrown their lives away. 

Soon the shrill cries of the hired mourners were 
heard resounding through the house, mingled 
with the quieter weeping of those who felt what a 
blank was left in the household. Messengers 
were despatched to see if the girls were past all 
medical aid, and some were sent to call in the help 


3°S 


home-life in china. 


of the foreign missionary. They could do won- 
derful things, these strange people from the West; 
let them come and try their .skill now. 

What a sad sight it was for the missionary to 
stand in that room of death and think of what 
might have been and what was ! How they might 
have been taught to look at life, with all its care 
and trouble, as means by which our Heavenly 
Father would lead them onward to the home 
above ! 

But there are many more girls in Chinese homes 
leading lives with little of joy or brightness in 
them, and sometimes filled with overwhelming 
sorrow and despair. There is one thing only that 
can brighten these Chinese homes, one hope that 
can make lives weighed down with care worth 
living, and that is the love of Jesus. It is this 
message of glad tidings which we want you to 
help us to carry to sad Chinese homes. 


CONCLUSION. 


309 


CHAPTER XIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

A Chinese letter is lying before me as I 
take up my pen to write this last chapter about 
the young people of China. Such a strange letter 
you would think it, written on thin paper of a 
yellowish color, with pink flowers and figures all 
over it. It was sent to me by a Chinese Christian, 
and contains a message for all the young people 
who read this book. It is a message of thankful- 
ness, telling how glad the writer is that mission- 
aries came to his country, and that he has heard 
of Jesus, and is now happy because he believes in 
Him. It is a message of earnest entreaty, because 
it tells how much more needs to be done before 
the many millions in that dark land of China can 
hear of the Saviour who died that they might 
live. 

Before you read these words I shall be back in 
China. Shall I be able to cheer the Chinese 
Christians by telling them that many children 
here are thinking of them, praying for them, help- 
ing to send more good books and more missiona- 
ries to them ? That would be a very good answer 
indeed to the letter of which I have told you. 

When I was coming away from China, more 


310 home-life in china. 

than a year ago, a Chinese Christian said to me, 
i 1 1 may not be able to write you a letter and send 
it all the way to yon, but every day I will send 
a message of prayer to heaven for you. ’ ’ 

That, I think, is the best kind of letter; and 
though you cannot answer the Chinese letter of 
which I have spoken, from the quiet of your 
homes you can constantly send up earnest prayers 
for these Chinese children of whom I have told 
you, that they may be taught to love the Saviour 
who put his hands on little children’s heads and 
said, “ Suffer little children to come unto me, and 
forbid them not.” 

A lady was talking to me the other day about 
mission work in China, and she said, “I always 
pray for the Chinese people every day; and then I 
feel that I cannot stop at praying; I must do some- 
thing to help forward the work among them. ’ ’ 

Do any of the children who read this feel like 
that lady ? 

I know that some girls and boys do. I have 
met with them since I have been at home. Some 
say, ‘ ‘ I want to be a missionary when I am older, ’ ’ 
or “If I live to grow up I mean to go to China 
and teach the children about Jesus.” 

I have a little pile of letters also which I prize 
very much. They have each been sent to me 
with gifts to take to Chinese children. Many of 
these presents are pictures and illustrated maga- 
zines. Some of them are pretty scrap-books and 


CONCLUSION. 


311 

albums, many of which I can see have been much 
prized by their young owners. But the little 
writers say, “We want to do something for Jesus 
and for the Chinese children. ’ ’ Another says, ‘ ‘ I 
felt as if I must send you something for the Chi- 
nese children. Please accept these scrap-books 
and pictures; we hope they will give them much 
pleasure, and by interesting them help you in 
your work of bringing them to Jesus.” 

This is one way in which children may help 
us in teaching Chinese boys and girls. But there 
are many other ways, for money is needed very 
much to send out more missionaries. Sometimes 
men and women who would be very glad to go 
out to China and teach the children cannot go 
because there is no money to send them; and yet 
there are still many large provinces, larger even 
than England, where they have no missionary at 
all, or else only one or two. Just think, if there 
were only one minister in all our land, how very 
few of you would ever have an opportunity of 
hearing him preach. But that is how it is in 
China. Some people have never heard anything 
about Jesus before, and we have been asked, “Is 
Jesus the foreign emperor? Plave you ever seen 
Him?” 

Just think for a moment about the terrible- 
looking idols of which I have told you, that Chi- 
nese children are taught to worship at the age 
when our little boys and girls kneel down by their 


2,12 


HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 


mother’s side and repeat the beautiful words, 
“ Our Father which art in heaven.” 

Then, when illness or misfortune comes into 
the family, they imagine it is caused by some evil 
spirit; and when at last the time comes for them 
to die they know nothing of a bright life beyond 
in the Father’s house of many mansions, but be- 
lieve that a dreadful-looking figure, who is repre- 
sented in some of the temples, comes with a heavy 
chain to drag them away to judgment. 

But long, long ago our ancestors were in very 
much the same condition, and were bowing down 
to idols and offering human sacrifices upon the 
mountain-tops and in the forest glades. But 
Christian people in other lands sent to those who 
came before us the bright light of the gospel, and 
so we ought to pass it on to others who are now in 
darkness. 

What should we say to a man who had once 
been saved from starvation himself, and kept a 
large supply of corn in his barns, refusing to re- 
lieve the hunger of many who were in need around 
him? to the man who had been saved from 
drowning, who refused to hold the rope that was 
to rescue others? Perhaps you will say you are 
still very young, not able to give or do very 
much. But have you forgotten that when our 
Lord Jesus was on earth, and wished to feed five 
thousand people, he did not ask any rich or great 
man to give out of his abundance, but took the 


CONCLUSION. 


3 I 3 

live loaves and two small fishes out of the basket 
of a boy who was standing there; and after he 
had blessed it there was sufficient to relieve the 
wants of that great multitude ? 

The best offering any one can give is to con- 
secrate himself for God’s service in heathen lands; 
and it is not out of place that I should say this to 
boys and girls, for most of those men and wo- 
men whose labors as missionaries God has richly 
blessed tell us they wished to give themselves to 
this work, and decided, God helping them, they 
would do so, when they were very young indeed. 
One gentleman, who seems to have read a good 
deal upon the subject, says in most cases he notices 
they were often not more than twelve years old 
when they first thought of it. And God expects 
every Christian to do something: to every one he 
says, u Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
gospel unto every creature.” There are some 
countries in Kurope where the law expects every 
man to be willing to go and fight his country’s 
battles. The vacant places in the ranks are filled 
up by lot, and sometimes the lot falls upon a young 
man whose parents find it very difficult to part 
with him, and they will sacrifice almost anything 
and pay large sums of money to induce a substi- 
tute to go to the wars in his stead. 

Substitutes are not to be bought to go and 
fight our Lord’s battles in far-off heathen lands; 
but surely those who cannot go should make some 


314 HOME-LIFE IN CHINA. 

sacrifices, should give up something they value 
much, in order that a substitute may be sent out 
in their stead. 

God does not look so much at the amount we 
give, but he knows quite well what we are able 
to give. You remember when Jesus stood by the 
treasury in the temple at Jerusalem he did not 
praise the men who cast in large sums out of their 
abundance; but when the poor widow came by 
and cast in two mites, which was all her living, 
then he commended her. But I cannot tell you 
what you must do or what you ought to give to 
help to send the gospel to these Chinese children; 
but if you go to Jesus and ask him, he will tell 
you ; and if you obey him he will make your lives 
very full of gladness. 

And when at last the years of this life shall 
have passed away, you may meet in the bright 
land beyond the river of death with some Chinese 
children who through you have heard of Jesus’ 
love and gained an entrance there. Then how 
glad you will feel that you were able to do so 
much ! how sorry that you did not try to do more 
to spread the knowledge of that dear Name which 
is above every name ! 


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DATE DUE 


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GAYLORD 



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DS725.B91 
Home-life in China ... 




